Ceiling of Uffizi Museum

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Some years ago one of my local friends told me that you could always spot the tourists in Florence, Italy, because they are always looking up. I say “Peccato!” (It is a sin!) But it must be the same for many people the world over: when you live in a place, sometimes you do not see it. I look up, down, and all-around. There are treasures everywhere.

Today I share something with you about il soffitto della Galleria degli Uffizi (the ceiling in the Uffizi Museum/Art Gallery). This first image is of only one room in the museum. It looks like many of the really fancy interiors in Europe, to me. I only include it here to show you that not all the ceilings in the Uffizi in are the same style.


The Uffizi Gallery is laid out in a square-shaped U. The latter leg has frescoes more in the style of realistic, large figures and I have not shown these here. But in the first leg you will see there is a lighter feel, since the graphics are thin, delicate, fanciful, and permit much of the white background to be seen. I love the imagination in these patterns – people morphing into animals and architecture.





So, I hope you like those. This next is a ceiling painting to look as if birds and plants are covering a glass lid. I do not know how old this is, but I do know that contemporary artists have used this idea time and time again. Perhaps they were inspired by the Uffizi?


For these last two images, how could I not show you some sculpture. And THE sculpture that inspired Michelangelo so much: Laocoön This marble in the Uffizi is a copy of the original one in Vatican City. That was discovered during Michelangelo’s lifetime and one can make an easy connection between the two.



I hope that you enjoy these images – I was not supposed to take any of them. Sneaky artist! But without flash, I fail to see the damage I have done, especially when my intention is the entice you to see some of these beauties yourself. So, chin up!

Official site for the Uffizi Gallery (click on the “eng” link in the upper left corner to read the site in English)

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