The Uffizi Gallery in Italy is one of the most famous museums in the world for its collection of world-famous paintings before and after the Renaissance.
The surging news learned that following the "Monet and Impressionist Masters Exhibition" in 2021, Shanghai Dongyi Art Museum recently joined hands with the Italian Uffizi Art Museum to officially announce the "Five Years and Ten Exhibitions" cooperation plan. It was also the first large-scale appearance in China of world-class gems from the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Italy.
Xie Dingwei, executive director of Dongyi Art Museum, told The Paper today that the first round of the planned "Five Years and Ten Exhibitions" includes three heavyweight exhibitions: "Botticelli and the Renaissance" in April, "Self-Portraits of Masters" in September, and "Eighteenth Century Masters Exhibition" in March 2023. Among them, in the upcoming first exhibition "Botticelli and the Renaissance" in April, in addition to the masterpieces of the Renaissance master Botticelli, there are also masterpieces by nearly 30 Renaissance artists such as Perugino, Philippe Lippi, Lorenzo di Cretty, Cosimo Rosselli and so on.
However, it is regrettable that Botticelli's most famous "Birth of Venus" and "Spring" are not included in this exhibition.
Part of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, unfortunately, this work is not included in the Shanghai exhibition
The Uffizi Gallery is the oldest and most recognized art museum in Florence, Italy. The gallery occupies the entire first and second floors of a large building designed by George Vasari between 1560 and 1580: one of the most famous museums in the world for its extraordinary collection of ancient sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Over the centuries, through bequests, exchanges and donations, the Uffizi has collected a series of precious and priceless works of art, with a collection from the Medici family as their central section, including a group of very important religious works from monasteries from the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries.
Exterior view of the Uffizi Gallery in Italy
Among them, some of the collections of paintings from the fourteenth century and the Renaissance are unique in the history of art: works by Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Angelico, Philippe Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and masterpieces of European painting, especially German, Dutch and Flanders.
The Paper, Art Review has learned that as the first round of five years of cooperation between the Uffizi Museum and the Shanghai Dongyi Art Museum, the Uffizi Art Museum will cooperate in three heavyweight exhibitions at the Dongyi Art Museum from April 2022: "Botticelli and the Renaissance", "Master Self-Portrait" and "Eighteenth Century Master Exhibition". The first two exhibitions will be the key projects of the "China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism 2022". Ike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Gallery in Italy, previously said in the signing of the cooperation, "Florence has always occupied a central position in culture and visual arts in history. Florence is famous for its Renaissance, so we celebrated international exchanges by opening the exhibition with the theme 'Botticelli and the Renaissance'.
Ike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Gallery in Italy, talks about the cooperation with the art museum in Shanghai. (01:29)
For this cooperation, Xie Dingwei, general manager of Tianxi Culture and executive director of Dongyi Art Museum, told reporters, "This cooperation with the Uffizi Art Museum has also received support and help from the Italian Consulate General, and they also very much hope to introduce the Italian Renaissance culture." The five-year-ten exhibition is actually two special exhibitions presented to the audience every year. ”
Regarding the exhibition, Xie Dingwei said, "The theme of the exhibition is the result of consultation between the two sides. Some of these exhibitions, such as 'Botticelli and the Renaissance', which the Uffizi Gallery has hosted elsewhere, will be adapted this time to the requirements of the Shanghai exhibition. The 'Master Self-Portrait' and the 'Eighteenth Century Masters Exhibition' were re-curated for our Dongyi Art Museum. ”
Botticelli and the Renaissance
It is reported that the first exhibition of the cooperation" "Botticelli and the Renaissance" will open on April 22, presenting 48 works by 30 Renaissance masters. These include the masterpieces of the famous painter Botticelli of the Florentine School at the end of the 15th century, Perugino, one of the first Italian painters to use oil paint, The 15th century fresco technology master Kirandario (also Michelangelo's teacher), the famous painter Philippe Lippi (also Botticelli's teacher), Cosimo Rosselli and other artistic giants. Covering tempera, oil painting, sculpture and other art forms, the exhibition narrates the evolution from Gothic to Renaissance, and explores the important influence of the Medici family of European masters on the Renaissance and art history. In this exhibition, the key exhibits include "The Pilgrimage of the Three Doctors", "Pallas and the Centaur", "Portrait of a Young Woman Simoneta Vespucci", "Portrait of a Young Woman" and so on.
Xie Dingwei told The Paper, Art Review that the organizer of Dongyi Art Museum, Tianxie, has shown Renaissance works in the "500 Years of Western Art" and "Carrara Collection Exhibition", but the Renaissance only occupies a part of it, and this time it focuses on the Renaissance, focusing on Botticelli, the famous artist, and the number of Renaissance works is also higher.
Botticelli that no one can match
Sandro Botticelli was the first artist in the Middle Ages to use mythology as the subject of his paintings, and he was one of the representative masters of the Renaissance, along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Botticelli's two finest works for the Medici family, Spring and The Birth of Venus, are now regarded as the embodiment of beauty, full of tenderness and poetry, symbolizing strength and hope, and he depicts the beauty of the goddess with extremely dynamic lines.
The Renaissance inspired creativity and produced many outstanding artists, and Botticelli's influence on art history is unparalleled.
The unique and beautiful "Pilgrimage of the Three Doctors"
In the late 15th century, when the Western cultural and intellectual scene developed into a period of elegance and refinement, Botticelli became famous according to the art historian Giorgio Vasari's Pilgrimage to the Three Doctors, a classic created between 1474 and 1475 and famous for its unique and aesthetic style.
Sandro Botticelli, The Pilgrimage of the Three Doctors, 1474-1475, Photoographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, will be exhibited at the Toichi Art Museum.
This masterpiece has been praised for its layout, composition and multi-gesture portrayal of people, as well as the extensive use of gold tones to make the picture bright and eye-catching. The picture is based on the biblical account of the three doctors of the East who came to worship at the time of the birth of Jesus, when the Italian and Florentine nobles learned of the news and rushed from all directions, and all kinds of people gathered around the three doctors. The young man on the right side of the painting, clad in a yellow velvet robe and confidently facing the viewer, is Botticelli himself, who seems to be proud of his identity and achievements. Botticelli was one of the early painters who incorporated personal figures into painting.
Sandro Botticelli's Pilgrimage to the Three Doctors (partial)
The immortal work of punishing evil and promoting good, "Pallas and the Centaur"
The Goddess Palathina and the Centaur is a story based on Greek mythology by Botticelli, which depicts a young woman holding a tomahawk and pulling the centaur's hair in another hand to show the capture of monsters. According to research data from this painting, this charming and proud female figure may be the goddess of knowledge, Palas Athena, who lost her life in the battle to defend the country and is a model of chastity. The centaur is a mythical species that combines man and beast and symbolizes the primordial wildness of man, so the work is understood as an allegory celebrating virtue.
Sandro Botticelli, The Goddess Pallas Athena and the Centaur, circa 1475-1480
Photoic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, will be on display at the Toyo Art Museum
The Renaissance was an era of gradual self-improvement and innovation, and mythological and religious themes were often used to depict the creator's or client's cognition and understanding of real life, and to convey his personal views and attitudes towards the world and life.
One of the most famous portraits, Portrait of a Young Woman Simoneta Vespucci
Botticelli's portraits of women tend to express an ideal beauty, with a lateral posture, delicately depicting the hairstyles, accessories and clothing of the people in the paintings. The figure in this painting, known as his muse "Beauty Simonetta", is one of Botticelli's most famous portraits.
Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of a Young Woman Simoneta Vespucci, circa 1485, Wood-panel oil painting Photoographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, will be exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum
In the painting, the woman is presented in an asymmetrical composition on the left side of the background door frame, with a unique sitting posture, the side is shown, the contours are clear, the hair is wrapped in a white hat, wearing a long crimson dress, the sleeves and the body are separated, the white shirt inside the skirt is faintly exposed, and the simple clothing and accessories highlight the character of the Italian nobleman in the painting, highlighting her noble temperament.
Simonetta Vespucci was a young woman of natural beauty, whose beauty was known as Marilyn Monroe in the Renaissance. Countless florentine art creators at that time used her ethereal beauty as a measure of beauty, including Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli was even more haunted by her, long swan-like neck, straight aristocratic nose and flowing blond hair are the model of the goddess in Botticelli's many masterpieces.
In addition to these Botticelli masterpieces mentioned above, the exhibition will also showcase the works of Philippe Lippi, Perugino, Lorenzo di Cretti, Cosimo Rosselli and others.
Lorenzo di Credy, Venus, 1490-1495, oil on wood, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, will be exhibited at the Toyo Art Museum
Piero del Polayolo, Portrait of a Young Woman, c. 1480, tempera oil on wood, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, will be exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum
Master self-portrait
In September this year, The Dongyi Art Museum will present a special exhibition "Master Self-Portrait", which is also the second part of the Uffizi trilogy of the Dongyi Art Museum, presenting 50 self-portrait works spanning the 16th and 21st centuries, bringing together 50 artists such as Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Jacques-Louis David, Angle, Morandi, Chagall, Yayoi Kusama, and Cai Guoqiang. Among them, the most famous is the "Raphael Self-Portrait" that first came to Shanghai. It is reported that this is the first time that Dongyi Art Museum has presented an exhibition with self-portrait as the theme.
Xie Dingwei introduced, "In the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, self-portrait works are a major highlight. In the West, artists also have the habit of creating self-portraits, so this exhibition is not limited to Italian artists, but also involves self-portraits of artists from different regions and different eras. Among them, a self-portrait of Raphael is even more important. The portrait displayed after searching for Raphael on the Internet is what we will show. ”
The performer of the "perfect image" - Raphael San Zio
Raphael San Zio Self-Portrait, 1506, Oil on Wood, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum in September
Raphael was a famous Italian painter, and together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he was known as the "Three Masters of the Renaissance". He created a large number of works in his short life, which promoted the development process of Western art history and left an eternal artistic wealth for future generations.
Raphael's Self-Portrait is one of Raphael's most famous paintings, showing a vivid image of Raphael. The dark eyes and elegant countenance in the painting confirm Vasari's enthusiastic praise for the genius painter in the "Celebrity Biography of the Art Garden", "elegance, cleverness and beauty". Considered to be the expressor of the artist's "perfect image". The exhibition is also the first appearance of this precious work in Shanghai.
Raphael's Self-Portrait
"Self-Portrait Master" – Rembrandt Halmansson van Leyen
Rembrandt was one of the representative painters of European Baroque art, and the main figure of the Dutch school of painting in the 17th century, known as the greatest painter of the "Dutch Golden Age", leaving more than 600 oil paintings in his lifetime. Among them, self-portraits occupy an important part of Rembrandt's artistic career.
Rembrandt Self-Portrait, circa 1668-1669, oil on canvas, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum in September
Rembrandt is good at recording the course of life through the "chiaroscuro" processing self-portrait, and showing the ups and downs of his life, feeling the bittersweet and bittersweet of life. In this Self-Portrait of Rembrandt, the brown background, the serious protagonist sitting on his side, and the light that is only visible around the upper body and head, such a contrast between darkness and light, let us clearly feel the unique mental outlook of a great artist.
The first master in the history of Spanish painting - Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velázquez
Velázquez is one of the most outstanding representative painters of the Spanish Golden Age, and at the same time occupies an important position in the history of world art, and has a great influence on later generations of Realist and Impressionist painters, including Goya, Manet, Picasso, Dali, Bacon and so on.
He is well versed in the style of realism, presenting figures and events through oil paintings. This "Velázquez Self-Portrait" shows his meticulous painting skills, but also reflects the awakening of the artist's consciousness and the realization of self-worth.
Diego Rodriguez de Silva-Velázquez Self-Portrait, circa 1643, oil on canvas, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited at the Toichi Art Museum in September
In addition to the self-portraits of the artists mentioned above, the exhibition will also see self-portraits by Rubens, Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, Morandi, Chagall, Yayoi Kusama, Tsai Guoqiang and other artists. Through the exhibition, the audience can understand what kind of thinking and how these masters present their faces in the paintings, and what kind of mood they face themselves in the paintings.
Elizabeth Louisa Vijay Le Brunn, 1790, Oil on canvas, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum in September
Exhibition of the Masters of the Eighteenth Century
The "Eighteenth Century Masters Exhibition", which will open next year, will focus on the exhibition of Baroque, Rococo and neoclassical painting styles, focusing on the most representative classic masterpieces of the most famous European masters of the 18th century, such as Goya, Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto, Giuseppe Crespi, Francesco Guardi, Angelica Kaufmann and other paintings, covering genre paintings, landscapes, still lifes, portraits, group portraits, mythological stories and exotic paintings. Bring the audience a unique "Open Class on 18th Century European Art History".
"Compared with the works of religion and mythology in the Renaissance, the works of art in the eighteenth century have a wider range of themes, including landscape paintings and genre paintings, and there are more works that reflect social life." Xie Dingwei said.
Francisco José de Goya-Lucientes, Portrait of Maria Theresa di Vallabriga on Horseback, 1783, oil on canvas, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited in 2023
Giovanni Antonio Canal, also known as Canaletto' Views of the Doge's Palace in Venice, 1726-1728, Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited in 2023
Jean-Etienne Lyotard, Maria Adelaide of France in Turkish-style dress, 1753, oil on canvas
Photographic Department, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy，将于2023年展出
Jean Baptiste SimeonChardine, "The Child Playing Badminton," circa 1740, on canvas, The UffiziGalleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited in 2023
Alexis Grimm, Portrait of a Young Pilgrim, 1725, oil on canvas, Photographic Department, The Uffizi Gallleries - By Permission of the Ministry for Culture of Italy, to be exhibited in 2023
Link: Uffizi in the Shanghai Trilogy:
The exhibition "Botticelli and the Renaissance" will be on display from April 22, 2022 to August 14, 2022.
The exhibition "Self-Portrait of the Master" will be on display from September 2022 to January 2023.
The exhibition "Eighteenth Century Masters Exhibition" will be on display from March 2023 to July 2023.