The Uffizi Galleries has opened a new exhibition, Rooms with a View, dedicated to the German art historian Aby Warburg, providing insight into his academic method as well as personal connection to Florence and, specifically, to the Uffizi.
From September 19 to December 10, visitors to the Uffizi are welcomed to a five-room exhibition that maps out Warburg’s passion for and expertise in the city’s visual culture with its many manifestations. Warburg’s focus was rooted in the Renaissance, but the new show explores the branches of his studies that extend in both directions, connecting visitors to the ancient foundations of Florence’s artistic culture, as well as its transformation through time.
Featuring an abundant selection of drawings, etchings, photographs, paintings and more, visitors gain a sense of Warburg’s intellectual process as they are guided through a variety of themes within his scholarship. The exhibition emphasizes Warburg’s ongoing connection to Florence, following his first visit in 1888, and highlights the city as a rich source of inspiration, as a “laboratory of images”.
Giacomo Brogi, Florence, 1907. Uffizi Gallery
Raffaello Sanzio, Florence, 1514. Uffizi Gallery
Bernardo Buontalenti, Florence, 1600. Uffizi Gallery
The collection aims to replicate his work, Mnemosyne Atlas, a grand collection of images that he worked on until the end of his days in 1929. A variety of over 100 images from the Atlas are on display, informing viewers on the topics of Warburg’s work, as well as on his life and academic approach.
Featuring a broad range of artists and types of images, visitors will find the most important historical names, including Michelangelo and Dürer, as well as Warburg’s own letters and sketches, and modern additions such as William Kentridge. The display mirrors Warburg’s meticulous attention to detail, with each image exacting careful and curious observation.
As a collaboration between the Uffizi Galleries, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut and the Warburg Institute in London, Rooms with a View aims to return the field-changing work of Aby Warburg to the city that inspired the renowned art historian’s studies. Warburg’s time in the Uffizi archives helped foster his vast scholarship, and this exhibition allows it to be viewed in the context in which it was created.
Entrance to the exhibition is included in the general admission price to the Uffizi, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 8.15am to 6.30pm.
