Gemstones and Flowers at the Uffizi
Being a subject extremely popular in the figurative arts of all time, flowers represent at the same time both a very delicate representation of the beauty of Creation and a universe full of symbols that in the past were easily comprehensible to most people.
The symbol for the city of Florence is a big, red iris! With this tour, we will see how flowers are depicted in some of the most important works of art and their symbolism. We will also look at gemstones, which have always been important elements in painting realization.
The narrative of the 1300s altarpieces was sometimes emphasized by symbolic language, in which flowers acquired a role of primary importance. Thus flowers first became the symbol of the Madonna: Giotto was the first to place at the feet of the Madonna on the throne the vase with white and red roses and white lilies.
Medieval and Renaissance religious paintings, symbols and meanings of flowers, precious stones and materials used in the making of the work
The depiction of the enclosed garden, referred to in the Song of Songs as the "hortus conclusus"
The Early and Second Renaissance - a new use of flowers and gems
The 16th-century Medici portraits, where jewelry had a political and promotional function, as evidenced by Agnolo Bronzino's Medici portraits: from that of Eleanor of Toledo to those of Maria de' Medici to little Bia.
Guide
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