Gallery of Modern Art

The Gallery of Modern Art, housing one of the most important and complete collections of early and late 19th century and early 20^th century Italian paintings, occupies an impressive 30 rooms on the second floor (opened to public viewing since 1924) of the Palazzo Pitti once inhabited by the Habsburg-Lorraine family from which there is a magnificent view over Florence and the Boboli Gardens.  It extends as far as the rooms and the facade used by the for the palace library and the side wings used for children and retainers.

Founded in 1914, it initially comprised the Grand Ducal paintings of modern art, complemented by further modern works of art in the ownership of both the state and the municipality of Florence, brought in from the Academy of Fine Arts. The sumptuous rooms, furnished in the first half of the 19th century with frescoes, stuccoes, and period furnishings, constitute a perfect setting for the works.

Recently, these rooms have been reorganized, according to chronological criteria that trace a wide chronological arc. Though the rooms on the second floor have been restored, the decoration, upholstering and furniture of the Lorraine period have been maintained. Great informative materials are available in each room.

To some, the title “Gallery of Modern Art” may sound incorrect, as the art in the gallery covers the period of time going from Neo-Classicism (the age of Peter Leopold) up to the First World War to the 1920’s and no examples of later art are included in the collection.   In Italy, “modern art” refers to the period before World War II.  What follows is generally known as “contemporary art” (arte contemporanea) which, in Tuscany, can be found at the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci at Prato, a city about 15 kms. (9 mi.) from Florence.

The tour of its current large collection, still being added to through donations and purchases, is arranged in multiple, overlapping rows and organized in chronological order and by historical-topical category.  It attempts to furnish visitors with a clear view of the history of the various core collections, enabling a correct reading of the diverse atmospheres, marked as they are by the personal tastes of the royal families alternating in their reigns.  Today, due to a convention signed by the Italian State and the Municipal Administration of Florence, it has a very special juridical nature.

Entry of Charles VIII into Florence (Giuseppe Bezzuoli)

Our chronological journey began with the movements of the early 1800s, with artworks from the Neo-Classical (like the Oath of the Saxons to Napoleon by Pietro Benvenuti), to Purism and the Romantic (like the grandiose Entry of Charles VIII into Florence by Giuseppe Bezzuoli or The Two Foscari  by Francesco Hayez).

The Expulsion from Florence of the Duke of Athens (Stefano Ussi, 1861)

Also included is a vast assortment of paintings of modern Italian schools of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, based on historical subjects that document one of most significant aspects of the first half of the 19th century culture. These comprise works by Luigi Sabatelli, Enrico Pollastrini or by Stefano Ussi with his famous The Expulsion from Florence of the Duke of Athens.

The 19th-century itinerary concludes with works of Symbolist and Divionist movements. Among the various works on display include many paintings of views and interior scenes by the delicate Silvestro Lega and the vigorous landscape painter Telemaco Signorini, a series of his rapid and elegant portraits by Giovanni Boldini, plus other works by Giorgio Morandi, Francesco Hayez, Camille Pissarro, Filippo de Pisis, Carlo Carra, Giorgio de Chirico, M. Rosso and Plinio Nomellini and futurist avant-garde works.

In addition to the above-mentioned collections, the Gallery also displays a lavish collection of 19th century works arranged in the so-called Mezzanine of the Eyes (Mezzanino degli Occhi, the “eyes” being windows in the shape of a circle).

However, the paintings that most characterize the Gallery are those of the Macchiaioli movement (starting at Room 17), a school of famous Tuscan artists of the mid-19th century, led by Giovanni Fattori, who are early pioneers and the founders of the Impressionist movement that set out the premise for a wide-scale innovation at a national level. Many of the works of these artists displayed in the Gallery belong to the collection of Diego Martelli, a critic, gallery owner (who went back and forth between Florence and Impressionist Paris) and friend of the Macchiaioli who left their paintings to the museum at the end of the last century.

Italian Camp at the Battle of Magenta (Giovanni Fattori)

This section comprises important works by Giovanni Fattori such as the small and beautiful panel Rotonda at Palmieri, the Italian Camp at the Battle of Magenta, and the Lo Staffato plus a rich series of landscapes and scenes of life in the Maremma such as the Market San Godenzo in Maremma (1887), the Ox Cart in the Tuscan Maremma, and the Sheep’s Jump (Il Salto delle Pecore, 1887).

The Sheep’s Jump (Giovanni Fattori, 1887)

Within the same period are many fine sculptures such as the Calliope of Antonio Canova, Psyché by Pietro Tenerani and the famous Abel Defeated by Giovanni Dupré.

Abel Defeated (Giovanni Dupre)

The sculptures of Adriano Cecioni, lucidly translated and experimented with the tonal ideas prevalent to whom the touch was so important. You can also visit the apartments of the Duchess of Aosta, with the original furnishings that belonged to the Savoia family.

Apartment of the Duchess of Aosta

Gallery of Modern Art: Second Floor, Palazzo Pitti, Piazza de’ Pitti 1, 50125 Florence, Italy.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 8.15 AM to 6.50 PM. Closed: Mondays, New Year’s Day, May 1 and Christmas Day. Admission: € 8.50 (full price), € 4.25 (reduced).  Free admission: children under 6 years old, disabled people and their helpers, authorized tour guides and leaders, teachers accompanying school groups. The ticket is also valid for the entrance to the Palatine Gallery. The ticket office closes at 6.05 PM and closing operations begin 6.30 PM.

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

An array of Medici portraits at the Blue Room (Salotto Celeste)

From the Palatine Gallery, our visit continued to the monumental Imperial and Royal Apartments.  Taking up 14 magnificent ceremonial rooms (now differentiated from the Palatine Gallery) at the right wing of the main floor of the Palazzo Pitti, it opened out along the south side of the Palazzo Pitti façade. Over three subsequent historical periods, they have been an important record of the history of the palace. The three different styles, corresponding to three different historical periods, are harmoniously balanced in that gives us an idea of its appearance before its transfer to the State in 1914.

Though their decoration has been changed to Empire style by the House of Savoy, there are still some rooms that maintain decorations and furniture from the age of the Medici. In 1911, restoration and general reorganization of the inventory of the paintings and furniture of the Pitti Palace was performed. After the recent refurbishing of the Apartments, started in 1987, these precious rooms were reopened to the public in 1993.

Parrot Room (Sala dei Pappagalli)

In contrast to the great salons of the Palatine Gallery, some of these rooms, while still grand and gilded, are much smaller, more intimate and are more suited to day-to-day living requirements with period furnishings including four-poster beds and other necessary furnishings not found elsewhere in the palazzo.  From the 17th century onwards, these majestic rooms were the residence of the Grand Ducal Medici family (until their extinction in 1734), then of the Lorraine (Lorenese) family and, finally, of the Savoys (when, from 1866-1870, Florence became the second capital of unified Italy and Vittoria Emanuele II chose to make the Pitti the royal residence).

Bearing traces of the changing dynasties, these rooms were sumptuously furnished with pieces from the collections of the Medici, Habsburg-Lorraine and House of Savoy such as tables with semi-precious stone inlays, consoles and mirrors, furnishings and silk tapestries on the walls.  These striking mixture of styles reflect the daily life and taste of the different periods and inhabitants.

Chapel

The apartments still retain the layout given by the Grand Prince Ferdinando dei Medici, the son of Cosimo III. The few treasures from the Medici period that remain include the precious 17th century ebony and semi-precious stone cabinet that belonged to the Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere (the wife of Ferdinando II) and the chapel.  The prevailing appearance of the Royal Apartments, as seen today, is that given them, in the fourth and fifth decades of the 19th century, by the Neo-Classical taste of the Lorraine-Hapsburgs.  These rooms were given its final character by the Savoys who left a strongly eclectic and distinctive stamp of their taste on the general appearance of the Royal and Imperial Apartments, which is still visible today.

The Grand Dukes of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine altered, restored and re-furnished the apartments, between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, according to the changing taste of the period, decorating the ceilings with stucco and Neo-Classical subjects and the Oval Room (known as the Queen’s Dressing Room) with light hand-embroidered silk panels to the designs of Ignacio Pellegrini, and the ceiling with colored Rococo stucco.

Green Room

From 1865, during the time of the sovereigns of the House of Savoy, some rooms (notably the chapel) were also entirely refurnished and carpeted, between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, according to the Empire style of the period.

The Green Room (Salone Verde), frescoed by Giuseppe Castagnoli in early 19th century, exhibits an Intarsia Cabinet from the 17th century and a collection of gilded bronzes. The name of the room comes from the green color of the wall coverings, curtains and the upholstery on some of the furniture (which are all in silk – textured or plain) fitted, between 1854 and 1855, by Florentine manufacturers.

Green Room (Sala Verde)

In that period, the room was completely redecorated, like the Blue Room and the Throne Room that follow it, earning the name of Fabric District (Quartiere delle Stoffe).  Since the last Grand Duke, Leopold II of Lorraine had chosen the new Palazzina della Meridiana as his home, it was used first as a reception room.

Also from the same period are the carpet (made by the prestigious Royal Works of Tournai, in northern France, and decorated with late imperial motifs), a pair of lamps, the brackets for the candle holders, the fire guard and the fireplace mirror (carved in imitation of the two placed above the slightly older consoles).  Coming from different periods are the rest of the furnishings and paintings (starting with the canvas on the ceiling, the Allegory of Peace between Florence and Siena, painted by Luca Giordano in 1682 for Cosimo III.

Stipo Cabinet

The Stipo cabinet, belonging to Vittoria della Rovere, is definitely the most important piece of furniture.  This monumental work of art, from the ducal workshops of the 17th century, emulated, on a small scale,  the Historicist style of the side table from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (delivered to the Pitti Palace in 1852 and subsequently placed in the room), with the Savoy period typical nonchalant style and tone.

The Throne Room (Sala del Trono), decorated for King Vittoria Emanuele II  of Savoy, was used for official audiences as well as to hang some of the paintings from his famous collection.  The throne is under a canopy. The royal setting is emphasized by the large mirrors on the walls (to multiply the images of the king) as well as by the sumptuous mid 19th century Baroque red damask silk lampas ensemble on the walls.

Throne Room

The throne area was set out later, for the arrival of the Savoy monarch, and then, after 1871, changed again when the balustrade and audience chair were added with the emblem of the Savoys.  On the ceiling arch are the triumphant decorations by Giuseppe Castagnoli (1754-1832) while the image of Jupiter enthroned is framed with monochrome decorations.

A clock flanked by Oriental vases and candelabras

The room has been further enhanced by a richly inlaid, gilded lamp while inlaid and gilded console tables are decorated with candelabras and imposing 17th-18th century Oriental Japanese and Chinese porcelain vases.

Like the Green Room and the Throne Room, the Blue Room (Salotto Celeste) was also renewed between 1854 and 1855 when this suite was known as the new Fabric District (Quartiere delle Stoffe). The room stands out for the Neo-Baroque decorative style, updated to the fashions of Paris and London in the mid-19th century. After the addition of new wallpaper (in this case, a shade of blue), the room was also given a carpet made by French weavers in Tournai. Furnishings include a small round table, with a pietre dure top on a base in porphyry, and the four candle holders.

Blue Room (Salotto Celeste)

The Blue Room pays homage to some members of the Medici family or those who were joined to it by marriage (except Cardinal Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili) who, during the course of their lives, had spent time in these spaces.  Hung on the walls are 10 of a series of 12 portraits painted between 1621 and 1645 by court painter Giusto Sustermans (1597–1681), all identical in size and given new frames in the 1720s on the wishes of Grand Duke Cosimo III.  They include a full-length portrait of Christina of Lorraine, her daughter Claudia and husband Leopold of Austria, Cosimo II’s children, Francesco and Mattias, painted a few years later, Grand Duke Ferdinand II and Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici.

One of the Medici portraits

The large chandelier, the oldest (dating back to the 17th century) still in the palace, was carved by Vittorio Crosten.  The white stucco and gold ceiling dates back to the period of Peter Leopold of Lorraine.  The “eagle” fireplace was done by Francis Harwood, an Englishman (who moved to Florence, where he ended his days in 1783) who worked as a portrait painter and copyist of Roman antiquities for travelers on the Grand Tour.  He was employed by the Grand Duke to restore the sculptures in the palace and the Boboli Gardens.

Parrot Room

The Parrot Room (Sala dei Pappagalli), named for the bird (actually imperial eagles) motif in the beautiful silk lampas wall coverings (which have a green background and were made in the manufactory of Lyon in France and brought by Grand Duke Ferdinando III from Vienna in 1814), divides the King’s Apartment (extending along the internal courtyard) from the Queen’s Apartment, which follows the southern axis.  The Lorraine family installed the large stove.  The carpet and crystal chandelier both date from the 19^th century.

Portrait of Giulia Varano, Duchess of Urbino (Titian)

In these public and private rooms, the Savoyard Period’s (1860-1919) eclectic taste (as described in the 1911 inventory) is particularly evident.  The clock, with its chased and gilded bronze shelf and black marble base, was made in 1812 by Pierre Philippe Thomire, a famous Parisian bronze maker.

The “recycling” of works of art, typical of the Restoration (c. 1815), includes the original bust of Napoleon being replaced with the bust of Ferdinando III and the imperial eagle with the allegorical figure of Tuscany.  The table cover, of silk and gilded silver, is in Louis XV style.  Impruneta Fair, by Filippo Napoletano, is a depiction of the famous fair held near Florence every October 18th.

Chapel

The Chapel, intended by Grand Prince Ferdinando de’Medici (who lived there until his death in 1713) to be an alcove, or rather, an official bedroom (the real bedroom for sleeping was two doors further on) designed to receive a small group of people, shows the most obvious traces of the Medici story in the palace.

However, the echoes of the Medici style were cushioned during the Savoy rule when, with the aim of providing a seamless sequence of representation rooms, the furnishings were updated, including the table, mirror, vases and clock, and the accents that were probably considered too severe.

In the bed compartment, there is still a door that leads, by way of a spiral staircase, into a small library, closed by panels and cornices in different types of wood, decorated with plant motifs by French inlayer Riccardo Lebrun.

Mainly Late Baroque in style, the area is enhanced by a crimson silk damask ensemble which, although dating back to the mid 19th century, picks up on the designs and motifs in use in the previous century, establishing a seamless dialog with its, late 17th century character still evident in the articulate white stucco and gold decoration and in the gilded inlaid work by Giovan Battista Foggini (1652-1725), carried out between 1685 and 1687, with scrolls and mottoes referring to Ferdinando and his wife, Violante of Baviera. With the arrival of the Grand Dukes of Lorraine, the alcove was converted to a chapel.

Today, this area contains a mix of holy paintings and other highly crafted pieces.  The Virgin and Child, painted in 1675 by Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) for Vittoria della Rovere (widow of Ferdinando II de’ Medici), has a sumptuous and precious pietre dure frame, probably created from designs by Foggini on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Gian Gastone in 1697.

Other holy paintings shown here include two round works from the school of Sandro Botticelli and a 17th-century copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin on the Rocks (noted, above all, for its Baroque frame).

Royal Apartments: First Floor, South Wing, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Hall of Venus (Sala di Venere)

The Hall of Venus (Sala di Venere) starts the series of elegant rooms in the winter apartment on the first floor of Palazzo Pitti. This famous great hall, in Medici times, was the general antechamber where, before being received by the Grand Duke, the common public waited to be admitted.

On his return to Florence in 1641, Pietro da Cortona, commissioned by Ferdinando II de’ Medici (who wanted to show that he has aligned himself with the new Baroque decorative style), decorated the hall with frescoes and stuccoes from 1641 to 1642, the first of the series of so-called Planetary Rooms to which he put his hand (for this reason, it is entirely autographed).

Ceiling fresco (Pietro de Cortona)

The iconographic Medici residence celebration programme, aimed at exalting the figure of the prince and the process of preparing him to govern well, featured a decorative theme proposed by Francesco Rondinelli (the grand duke’s librarian).

Two lunettes and a tondi

It involved the constant presence of all three key players in the rooms – the prince, Hercules (a symbol of the virtues of the prince and protector of the Medici family) and the gods of Olympus (Venus, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn representing the Ptolemaic planets) to which the room is dedicated.The lively fresco in the ceiling vault depicts, in the center, Minerva tearing the young adolescent prince from the arms of Venus (a symbol of pleasure) and then handing him over to Hercules (a symbol of virtue), his new tutor.

A lunette

Stories from antiquity, linked by the theme of the virtuous behavior of illustrious men in front of beautiful women, are frescoed at the eight lunettes, all bearing explanatory inscriptions in Latin.  Behind the lunette with the Story of Antiochus and Stratonice is a small window inserted between the stuccoes so that the Grand Duke can spy on and listen to what happened or was said in the room below.

Tondi

Standing out, from the very rich white stucco ovals (tondi), are portraits of the most illustrious of the most important members of the grand duchy, as well as the two popes of the House of Medici (Leo X and Clement VII). Their personal emblems are found at the segments of the pendentives.

Tondi

With respect to the Renaissance construction, the change of spatial organization is felt less. Although softened by the presence of the gilt stucco telamons and the white stucco medallions, the pattern of the lunettes, of the rib vaults and pendentives follow a pattern that still reflects the order of the Renaissance interior.

Venere Italica (Antonio Canova, 1810)

Standing at the center of the room, placed well after the room had taken its name, is the famous statue of the Venere Italica (Italic Venus, 1804-1811) by Antonio Canova, a compensation to Florence for the transfer of the Medici Venus (a work that was later returned) to the Louvre by Napoleon.

La Bella (Titian, 1536)

On display are four masterpieces by Titian.   Concerto (ca. 1506-1507) is an early work.  The Portrait of Julius II is a copy of the original by Raphael (now at the National Gallery in London ) but different in the results, especially linked to the masterful use of the typical color of Titian. La Bella (a painting for the Duke of Urbino, 1536 ) and the Portrait of Pietro Aretino  (1545) fully manifests the chromatic richness and stylistic complexity of the works of the master’s maturity, for example with the contrast between the reds of the beard and the blue of the robe that exhales the figure and a disturbing nuance to the character, shot shyly in profile.

Vocation of Peter and Andrew (Il Cigoli, 1607)

The Return of the Peasants from the Fields (ca. 1627) and Ulysses on the Island of the Phaeacians (ca. 1635), two grandiose and solemn landscapes, are a reference to Pieter Paul Rubens (the ideal teacher of Pietro da Cortona and the Flemish equivalent of Titian).

Marina del Faro with Vessels and Galleys (Salvator Rosa, ca. 1641)

Finally, Marina del Faro with Vessels and Galleys (ca. 1641) and Marina del Porto at Sunset (ca. 1641), two large marinas painted by the famous Neapolitan landscape painter Salvator Rosa, are noteworthy.

Other works in the Hall of Venus include:

• Portrait of Antonio Martelli (Caravaggio, 1608–1609)
• Portrait of Giacinto Calducci (follower of Justus Suttermans)
• Male Portrait (16th century Emilian school)
• Santa Martina Refuses to WorshipIidols (Pietro da Cortona)
• Portrait of Hunters of the Medici Court  (Justus Suttermans, ca. 1637)
• Sacred Conversation with Constantine, Saint Helena and Saint John  (Bonifacio Veronese, ca. 1510)
• Triumph of David  (Matteo Rosselli, ca. 1620)
• Roger at the Court of Alcina  Rutilio Manetti, 1624)
• Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria  (Francesco Bassano, ca. 1590)
• Apollo and Marsyas (attributed to Giovanni Bilivert)
• Apollo and Marsyas  (Guercino, ca. 1618)
• Portrait of Baccio Valori  (Sebastiano del Piombo, ca. 1531)
• Venus, Cupid and Vulcan  (Tintoretto, ca. 1550-1555)
• Portrait of Pietro Francavilla (17th century Flemish school, ca. 1610)
• Allegory of Lies  (Salvator Rosa, ca. 1649)
• Male Portrait  (Bartolomeo Passerotti, ca. 1570)
• Portrait of an Artist (Justus Suttermans)
• Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere as Saint Ursula (attributed to Justus Suttermans, ca. 1637)
• Portrait of a Child  (Justus Suttermans, ca. 1631)
• Portrait of Alessandro Farnese  Justus Suttermans, 1639-1640)
• Ecce Homo (attributed to Titian)
• San Giuseppe (Guercino, ca. 1660)
• Adoration of the Child (workshop of Titian)
• Vocation of Peter and Andrew  (Il Cigoli, 1607)
• Sant’Isidoro Agricola  (Giovanni Bilivert, ca. 1612-1615)
• Saint Joseph  (Guido Reni, ca. 1639-1640)
• Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena (Sienese school of the seventeenth century from Francesco Vanni)
• Narcissus at the Source  (Francesco Curradi, ca. 1622)
• Death of Saint Mary Magdalene (Rutilio Manetti, ca. 1618-1620)
• Table (Florentine manufacture of the century XVIII, 1785-1791)
• Table (Florentine manufacture of the century XVIII, ca. 1789)
• Table (Florentine manufacture of the century XVIII, 1785-1791) 

Return of the Peasants from the Fields (Pieter Paul Rubens, ca. 1627)

Hall of Venus: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Hall of Apollo (Sala di Apollo)

During the period of the Medici court, the Hall of Apollo (Sala di Apollo) was formerly the antechamber of the “ordinary nobility,” used by gentlemen who were waiting to be received by the Grand Duke inside the Throne Room.  It is dominated by a large altarpiece with the Sacred Conversation by Rosso Fiorentino (1522), the most important Florentine artist of early Mannerism together with Jacopo Pontormo, whose canvas was enlarged in the Baroque period to be adapted to the frame.

On the center of the ceiling vault is the fresco Medici Prince Brought before Apollo by Fame by Pietro da Cortona who provided the complete project (including the stuccos) and started the central figures in 1647 not long before the artist left Florence to return to Rome, delegating the rest of the assignment to his loyal pupil Ciro Ferri,

Ferri completed the decorations in the room 15 years later, between 1659-1661, after being appointed to do so by the Grand Duke, adding the frescos in the lunettes and the superb stucco cornice (a model that was then copied throughout Europe), based on the designs and cartoons left by his teacher Cortona.

The theme alludes to the ideal path of the political and moral education of the young prince, illuminated by Apollo and then guided along the path of knowledge by the laws governing the cosmos as evoked by Hercules holding the celestial globe, an obvious reference to Galileo Galilei’s recent discoveries and a symbol of the weight of the responsibilities of the future sovereign.

Ceiling fresco

Ovals and plumes, in the stucco, are examples of great ancient rulers who resorted to poetry and culture.  The stucco medallions below, showing some of the best-known feats of the Greek god, warns the future sovereign of the weight of responsibility from government and the need to be educated for the task by the Arts and by study.

Fresco of Augustus listening to the reading of the Aeneid,

The square frames show the emperors, including Augustus, intent upon listening to the reading of the Aeneid, or Alexander the Great receiving the poems of Homer, and condottieri from antiquity who favored the development of culture.  In the corbels are the Muses, Apollo’s companions.

Deposition from the Cross (Il Cigoli, 1600-1608)

The pictorial cycle and the articulated group of white stucco and gilt figures that disrupt the Renaissance style of the architectural setting, introduces a significant new element, animating the ceiling with an illusion of male sculptures holding up the heavy festoons and satyrs wrapped in vine tendrils.

Holy Family Bracci  (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1523)

Also in the room are three works by Andrea del Sarto – the majestic and balanced Pietà di Luco (1523-1524), Holy Family Bracci  (ca. 1523) and the Holy Family Medici (1529), one of his last works.   Exhibited nearby are two other works by Titian – the Man with Glaucous Eyes  (ca. 1525) and the famous  Penitent Magdalene (ca. 1530), much copied by the artists who were able to admire her.

Portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain in the dress of a Clarissa  (Pieter Paul Rubens)

There are also other important works of the Venetian school here such as the Portrait of Vincenzo Zeno (ca. 1565) by Tintoretto and the Nymph and the Satyr (1508-1512) by Dosso Dossi (actually the traditional title is incorrect because it is a scene inspired by Orlando Furioso). The Hospitality of San Giuliano (ca. 1612-1618) exemplifies the monumental style of the Florentine Alessandro Allori while Saint Peter Resurrects Tabita (ca. 1618) by the young Guercino and Cleopatra (1640), a mature work of Guido Reni, shows the grandeur of the Bolognese school of the seventeenth century.

Supper at Emmaus  (Jacopo Pistoia, ca. 1570-1572)

Flemish art is also well represented here by the famous double Portrait of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of England by the school of Anton van Dyck,  Portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain in the dress of a Clarissa  (ca. 1625) by Pieter Paul Rubens and the Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere as the Vestal Tuccia (ca. 1640) by Justus Suttermans.

Pieta di Luco (Andrea del Sarto)

Other works in the Hall of Apollo include:

• Portrait of Francesco Maria de ‘Medici (Justus Suttermans, ca. 1663)
• Portrait of Baccio Bandinelli  (copy from Andrea del Sarto)
• Madonna della Misericordia (workshop of Titian, ca. 1573)
• Augustus and the Sibyl (workshop of Garofalo, post 1537)
• Christ and the Adulteress (Ludovico Mazzolino, ca. 1526)
• Holy Family with St John (Caspar de Crayer, ca. 1650)
• Sant’Andrea (Simone Cantarini, ca. 1640-1650)
• San Giovanni Battista (Dosso Dossi)
• Portrait of Leopoldo de ‘Medici in the Cradle (Tiberio Titi, 1617)
• Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Mary Magdalene (attributed to Girolamo Denti, ca. 1550)
• Deposition from the Cross (Il Cigoli, 1600-1608)
• Diogenes (Carlo Dolci, 1640-1649)
• Portrait of Federico Ubaldo della Rovere in the Cradle ( Alessandro Vitali)
• Portrait of an Alemannic Soldier (Niccolò Cassana, 1691)
• Male Portrait (Sebastiano Mazzoni?) (Giovanni Battista Langetti)
• Male Portrait (Cristofano Allori, ca. 1600-1605)
• Portrait of Kaspar Stoppe  (Pieter Paul Rubens, ca. 1606-1607)
• Supper at Emmaus  (Jacopo Pistoia, ca. 1570-1572)
• Judith and Holofernes  (Jacopo Ligozzi, 1602)
• Saint John the Evangelist  (Carlo Dolci, ca. 1671)
• Female Portrait  (Cornelis de Vos, ca. 1624)
• Ecce Homo (copy from Sebastiano del Piombo)
• San Filippo Neri has the vision of the Madonna and Child (Carlo Maratta, ca. 1670)
• San Casimiro (Carlo Dolci, 1670-1671)
• Portrait of Olimpia Aldobrandini  Jacob Ferdinand Voet, ca. 1665-1670)
• Portrait of Cavalier Brandolini (?) (Justus Suttermans, Ca. 1640 – 1650)
• Table with top depicting Etruscan Vases (Florentine manufacture of the century XVIII, 1784)

Hall of Apollo: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Hall of Mars (Sala di Marte)

The Hall of Mars (Sala di Marte) was, at the time of the Medici, the antechamber of the throne room where the chamberlain introduced the nobles, ambassadors and visitors in the presence of the Grand Duke. Dedicated to Mars, it forms part of the cycle of works of the so-called Planet rooms carried out in the 1640s by Pietro da Cortona.

The ceiling vault, frescoed on the theme of war by Cortona between 1643 and 1647, features the Medici coat of arms in the center, held aloft by a cluster of cherubs and topped with a crown inscribed with the name of Ferdinando II de’ Medici who commissioned the impressive decorative work.

Ceiling vault fresco

An allegorical representation of the education of the young prince, Hercules (the young prince’s alter-ego and patron god of the Medici family) is depicted in a naval battle which rages along the perimeter, watched over by Mars, the god of War, who bestows strength to the young man by lighting him with his star.

Medici coat-of-arms

With the enemy weapons spoils given to him by the Dark Gods, Hercules makes a trophy (panoply) while a parade of prisoners, their weapons discarded in the hope of a lasting peace, advances towards the female figures of Victory, Plenty and Peace, crowned with laurel. Rotating on himself, he receives the gladius of victory from Castor and Pollux, to be added to the trophy.

Victory, Plenty and Peace

More than any other room in the Pitti Palace, the Hall of Mars, perhaps due to the theatrical composition and the lively arrangement of characters on the ceiling, reaches the level of Baroque illusionism found in the famous vault in Palazzo Barberini (where Cortona had just completed his Triumph of Divine Providence fresco) in Rome.

Four Philosophers (Peter Paul Rubens, 1612)

In this room there are two Pieter Paul Rubens masterpieces. The monumental  Consequences of the War (1638 ), a grandiose allegory in harmony with the theme of Pietro da Cortona’s frescoes on the ceiling, shows Venus vainly entreating Mars not to go to war. The Four Philosophers (ca. 1612), of great intensity, has a self-portrait at the top left. Both canvases are rich in literary and philosophical citations and often figures from classical mythology appear.

Madonna and Child (Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1650-1655)

San Sebastiano (Guercino’s Workshop)

The room is also accompanied by a series of portraits, among which the most important are by Anton van Dyck (Portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, 1622-1623), Titian (Portrait of Ippolito de ‘Medici, 1532), Tintoretto (Portrait of Alvise Cornaro, ca. 1665) and Paolo Veronese (Portrait of a Gentleman in Fur, ca. 1550-1560).

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Pieter van Mol)

Other works in the Hall of Mars include:

• Saint Mary Magdalene Penitent(Il Cigoli, ca. 1600)
• San Sebastiano (Guercino’sWorkshop)
• Annunciation with Saints Michael the Archangel and Godenzo (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1515)
• Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Pieter van Mol)
• Madonna and Child  (Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1650-1655)
• Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and St. John  (Ventura Salimbeni, 1608)
• Copy of the Madonna and Child, St. Elizabeth and St. John of Rubens (Jan van den Hoecke)
• Madonna of the Rosary  (Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1648-1650)
• Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth (Fra Bartolomeo, ca. 1516)
• Stories from the Childhood of Joseph (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1515-1516)
• Giuseppe Interprets the Pharaoh’s Dream (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1515-1516)
• Madonna and Child with St. John  (Domenico Puligo, ca. 1512-1515)
• Baptism of Christ  (Giovan Battista Foggini, 1723)
• Sacrifice of Isaac (Il Cigoli, ca. 1606-1607)
• Portrait of Andrea Vesalius (?) (workshop of Titian, ca. 1545)
• Portrait of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough  (Adriaen van der Werff, 1705)
• Peter in Tears (From Guido Reni)
• Saint Mary Magdalene Carried to Heaven by Angels  (Guido Cagnacci, ca. 1650-1658)
• Portrait of a Woman as Saint Margaret  (Carlo Dolci, 1664)
• A Copy of The Fortune Teller by Simon Vouet (attributed to Antiveduto of Gramatica, ca. 1617)
• Portrait of Luca Martini  (Bronzino, ca. 1554-1556)
• Immaculate Madonna  (Luca Giordano, ca. 1689)
• Rebecca at the Well  (Giovanni Andrea Sirani, ca. 1640)
• Table (Paolo Monaccorb, 1697)
• Three Tables (Florentine manufacture of the century XVIII, ca. 1790) 

St. Peter in Tears (From Guido Reni

Hall of Mars: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.