2010 is the celebration of the fourthest century anniversary of the death of one of the greatest Italian painters: Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio. Many cities offered to honor this great artist through exhibitions and among them is Florence. The art works will be exposed inside the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti.
On May 22nd 2010 the exhibition “Caravaggio and Caravaggeschi in Florence” will be opened to public until the 10th October 2010.
Florence will host some of the most important and famous art works of the Lombard painter: among them the famous Medusa donated by the Roman Cardinal Del Monte, to Ferdinando I de Medici, Granduca of Tuscany at the end of sixteenth century. This art work represents the head of the mythical personage still bleeding from the decapitation made by Perseo. This is permanent collection of the Uffizi.
Another art work to visit in the main Florentine Museum is the “Bacco“. Again this art work was ordered by the Cardinal Del Monte to be donated to Ferdinando I. Recently, during a restoration, the self-portrait of Caravaggio has been discovered inside the vine jug hereby the right side of the roman god scientists have assumed the painter painted his reflex in the jug he had in front while painting.
The third art work of Caravaggio and fostered by the Uffizi is the Sacrifice of Isaac. This painting was realized few years before the death of the painter and it fosters one of the rare cases where a natural background is visible, in front of it the main scene takes place.
Additional art works permanently lodged in the Florentine territory are located in the Palazzo Pitti and are the “Amore Dormiente” (Sleeping Love) and the portrait of Antonio Martelli, Knight of Malta. These two art works have in common the date in which they were painted, the 1608, two years before the death of Caravaggio during his stay in Malta .
Thanking Don Strange, rzrxtion, luisar for pictures