Three of Leonardo da Vinci's
greatest masterpieces, which were until this week housed in
separate rooms at the Uffizi Gallery, are now on display
together in a room dedicated exclusively to the Renaissance
genius.
The development is one of several revolutionary changes
brought about by the gallery's director, German art historian
Eike Schmidt.
The three paintings - the recently restored Adoration of the
Magi, The Annunciation, and The Baptism of Christ (which
Leonardo painted together with Verrocchio) - are now housed in a
room with walls colored in a soft, pearlescent grey tone, to
bring out "the fullness of the forms that are so typical of
Leonardo's style", Schmidt said at the inauguration of the new
arrangement.
This room of Leonardo's works completes a triptych
highlighting the Uffizi's most important works, together with
two other arrangements, one inaugurated in recent weeks and
another at the beginning of the year.
The most recently unveiled brought together Michelangelo's
Doni Tondo with the masterworks of Raphael, while the one
inaugurated earlier this year is an eight-room section dedicated
to the works of Caravaggio, with the Medusa as its focal point.
Schmidt said the next development will be the opening of
rooms focusing on 16th-century Venetian artists, scheduled for
the fall.
It will include about 10 works by artists including
Giorgione, Tintoretto, Tiziano, and Bernardo Licinio, as well as
some masterpieces that have been in storage for decades.
In October, Leonardo will once again be featured in
celebrations for the 500th anniversary of his death.
The Uffizi will open an exhibition showing the Codex
Leicester, a collection of scientific writings by Da Vinci, on
loan from Bill Gates.
The exhibition brings the work back to Italy after 34 years.
Schmidt said he plans to remain as director at least through
the end of his first four-year term at the end of 2019.
"I'm a Florentine citizen with German nationality; here in
the gallery there is still a lot to do, and I will do it," he
said.
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