Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)

The House of Medici was an influential banking, political, and religious family dynasty which flourished in Florence, Italy in the 15^th through the 17^th centuries. The founder of the dynasty was Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici—Cosimo de’ Medici—(1389-1464), a banker and art collector. Although the Medici family ruled Florence for centuries, Cosimo de’ Medici never officially held office.

Cosimo de’ Medici, known as Cosimo the Elder, the ruler of Florence, ordered the construction of a building to be used as the offices (the “uffizi”) of the State Judiciary. Medici wanted the building erected in order to bring together the thirteen principal magistrates of the State, whose offices had to be in the vicinity of Palazzo Vecchio, which was his residence. He commissioned the court architect, Giorgio Vasari, to design and construct the building.

Beginning with Cosimo the Elder, the Medici family grasped the prestige value of possessing art collections.

The idea for changing the use of the uffizi, whose appearance was more showy than what one would expect for a government building, came from Cosimo’s son Francesco I, who wanted to expand his role as an art collector and connoisseur of the arts.

The transition from office building to museum was completed in 1765. The Uffizi, a magnificent building constructed in two wings on the sides of a courtyard, houses examples of the works of nearly all the artists who played significant roles in the history of Western art.

The Uffizi Gallery is comprised of symmetrical wings on either side of the Via dei Magistrati. Although paintings are sometimes moved from one room to another, the following table indicates whose paintings can generally be found in most of the Uffizi’s rooms (galleries).