Photo credit: pravoslavie.ru
The collection of Russian icons will turn into part of the permanent exhibition of the famous Florentine Uffizi gallery, TASS reports. The collection will be located in the Pitti Palace, where the residence of the Tuscan Dukes used to be situated. According to Aike Schmidt, who heads the museum, the place was not chosen by chance - Fyodor Dostoyevsky lived right in the opposite building for six months. He often visited the museum.
The director assured that the difficult situation with coronavirus did not interfere with the preparation for the exhibition. He promised that the opening ceremony will take place immediately after quarantine is lifted - visitors will be invited to the museum again.
The Uffizi possesses nearly eighty icons. For the first time they will be presented to the public in full.
The gallery implements projects with various Russian museums, both large and not the most famous ones.
The history of Russian icons entering Italy is full of blind spots. According to historical documents, in the middle of the 18th century the collection was already located in Florence. Experts suggest that the icons were donated to the Duke of Tuscany by Francesco II, the ambassador or the local Orthodox community, who wished to thank the duke for permission to build an Orthodox church.
The origin of the icons and the names of the authors are unknown, but experts say that some of the images are similar in style to the icon painters of the Armory Chamber. It is possible that some of the icons in the Uffizi collection were painted by Kirill Ulanov, an outstanding Moscow artist of the late 17th - early 18th centuries.
Russkiy Mir
