Adriàn Pino Olivera, the 25-year-old Spaniard who stripped off naked before Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, has explained his motivation for the act on his blog.
Olivera is a performance artist and his baring all at the Uffizi is set to be the first in a series of performances in public spaces.
Our translation of his Spanish blog post:
Arriving at the Uffizi in Florence with red-gloved hands, entering Room 10 where the Birth of Venus by Botticelli is on display, stripping completely naked, before the goddess, throwing petals and crying Freedom! After the Carabinieri arrested me, they took my statement and I said very clearly that it was a poetic act, with which I declared my passion to Venus and my staunch defence was personal liberty. I can say that the Italian police is the most entertaining of all the police forces in the world. We spoke about the Quattrocento, Italian cinema and Sophia Loren. For ever in my heart! With this deed, I begin rebellious mini-performances: short, intense actions to shake up for a few seconds the serenity of solemn, bureaucratic spaces.
With sincere thanks to Susanna Mantovani, from Florence Tours at Made in Tuscany, for her photos and information. Mantovani happened to be in the Uffizi at the time of the performance and her photos have since featured in publications all around the world.
