Florence & Tuscany Guide / Museums / Galleria dell' Accademia

Walk through the passage of art…

Florence invites you to view her tremendous repertoire of museums in an exploration that covers the entire gamut from the fascinating to the fabulous, from the ancient to the modern and from the exciting to the exotic. Feel a sense of déjà vu as you traverse through fantastic centuries that open a series of doors to a spectrum of cultures, mysteries and myriad crafts. Florence holds the unforgettable accolade of bringing the Renaissance history and art to the modern day world in an extensive array of charm, rarity and beauty. Take all the time you need to absorb the ambience of an ancient culture.

The Essence of Art

The Accademia Gallery situated on Via Ricasoli, 60, exhibits the genius of the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of the Lorraine House who drew together all the drawing schools of Florence into an Academy in 1784. He also founded a gallery of earlier paintings which would facilitate the study of the Academy's pupils. This is still found in its original setting in the Hospital of St. Matthew to which other buildings have however subsequently been added.
The Accademia Gallery was originally established in 1563, in Europe, as the first school in Europe to teach the fundamentals of drawing, sculpture and painting. Notable for its fine collections, the Accademia Gallery has been considered the depository of all the other galleries and is a museum in its own right, of paintings and sculptures.

As you enter the Accademia Gallery, you come across a long hall which has been dedicated to Michaelangelo, which is lined with his passionate work, the 'Slaves' or 'Prisoners'. Along with other masterpieces of Michaelangelo, Saint Mathew and the Four Prisoners takes pride of place. The Pieta of Palestrina brought in a controversial attitude as it was sculpted by one of Michaelangelo's students. The Accademia brought in an ambience of by-gone beliefs both moral and religious. Fra' Bartolomeo, Andrea del sarto and Perugino's paintings display the glory of the 16 th century talent and imagination. Amongst its best known exhibits, the Accademia displays its series of Brussels tapestries which portray the Story of Creation forms a beautiful backdrop to the most awesome collection of paintings, sculptures and other artifacts from an ancient world.

Depicted as an " art that takes away superfluous material", Michaelangelo viewed sculpture as something that was already in the stone and that all that it needed was a professional chisel to set the sculpture free. Michaelangelo's technique is exhibited where he worked first on the abdomen and the torso going into the innards of the body as his base of sculpting. But his work comes to life as we view his 'Slaves struggling to break free of their stone shackles in a spiritual combat. Michaelangelo though he took almost forty years to complete these sculptures, they were never finished and are fabulous pieces of the "Unfinished Style"or "Nonfiniti".

Sculpting Perfection

Drawn by the mesmerizing view of the massive sculpture, the eye and mind focuses inexorably on 'David', with its sheer size and detail, is awesome and completely dominates all other sculptures. 'David' is placed in a vaulted area that allows the visitors to view this grand sculpture with its head turned realistically and with eyes that seem life-like, visible from all angles freely. With an interesting past, 'David' was sculpted by Michaelangelo being commissioned by the Opera del Duomo. As a popular and historic fact, 'David' was sculpted from a block of marble that was rejected by all other sculptors. This was because of the numerous veins that ran throughout the stone rendering it imperfect and prone to fracture easily besides being shaped in a strange formation. This piece of marble which had been lying at the Duomo's workshops for a long time was nicknamed, 'Il Gigante' (The Giant). Ironically, Michaelangelo was so young and he still finished a complete and beautiful Goliath-sized sculpture of "David' brings to light the genius of the talented sculptor and artist. The amazing fact is that Michaelangelo sculpted the statue with his innate talent and also used more than three-quarters of the imperfect marble.

Applauded by the commission and noted personalities such as, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli and other eminent artists, the Republican Government of Florence decided that the statue should be placed at the door of the Palazzo Vecchio or the entrance of the 'Palace of the Lords'. Not only regarded as only a Biblical representation, the statue of 'David' became symbolic of the liberty and freedom of Florence and the symbol of pride, civics and staunch beliefs of the Florentine people. As an interesting fact, in 1527, there was an anti-Medicean siege on the palazzo and a bench came crashing from a window which hit David's left arm which fell heavily on a farmer's toe. Giogio Vasari, a sculptor, quickly gathered up all the pieces which had fallen in spite of the violence around him. The statue was soon repaired and was sent to the Accademia in 1873, so that it would be safe and a duplicate was sculpted in place of the original. But the Accademia was also not that safe as in the year 1991 a man hammered the statue's toes and dislodged several of them. A protective Plexiglas shield was built around David to keep the statue safe from the elements and disruption.

Detailed to perfection, the statue of 'David' has been compared to other statues of huge sizes, but to no avail. This is because Michaelangelo even though young in age, had studied in detail the human anatomy through dissections of cadavers which was prohibited at that time. With a keen sense of detail and observation, Michaelangelo had sculpted the rear of the statue in detail which the other sculptors neglected to do. Michaelangelo did not know where his statue was going to be placed and inadvertently sculpted 'David' in all his glory with the essence of sculpture.

A Divine Journey

In a divine journey you can discover an ocean of exhibits with Botticelli's Primavera, Giovanni da Milano's Pieta (14 th century), the Annunciation by Lorenzo Monaco (15th century), the exquisite Adimari Cassone painted by Lo Scheggia, with the fabulous marriage procession (c. 1450), with its vivid and vibrant green and white marble of the Baptistry in the background. Michaelangelo's 'San Matteo' stands with pride and dedication amongst his peers. Botticelli's Madonna of the Sea takes prominent place with its smooth and flowing style. With the restoration of the Accademia's rooms, the public have been allowed admittance to view the amazing collection of Lorenzo Bartolini, Luigi Pampaloni and other noted sculptures of the nineteenth century. The Accademia drew world-wide attention in 1873, with Michaelangelo's David. Spectacular and immense, the statue of 'David' was begun in 1501, when Michaelangelo was twenty-five years old. The masterpiece took three years to complete being 4 meters and 10 centimeters in height as the largest and biggest sculpture since the Roman period. Drawing vast crowds of tourists from all parts of the world, 'David' has symbolized not only freedom of the Florentines, but also the spirit of the Renaissance with its aesthetic yet earthy beauty.

The Accademia halls are filled with immense paintings by Michaelangelo's contemporaries most of whom were influenced by his style and flair. It is fabled that even Pontormo's passionate painting of 'Venus and Cupid' was sourced originally from Michaelangelo's drawing. With every wall of the left wing of the Accademia filled inch to inch and from the ground to as far as the eye can see with plaster casts of countless sculptures and busts, the 19 th century hall of the Accademia is alive with the vitality, passion and dreams of bygone artists.

The Pulse of Talent

Take more than a day off and lose yourself in a maze of artistic talent. Built for the task that it was deemed for, the Accademia, structured in 1784, was the dream of many a budding artist. The Academy of Art Design established in 1565 dates back to Michaelangelo's period. Depicting the artistic ability of the 3 rd and the 4th centuries right up to the 15th and the 16th centuries, the Accademia brings alive the past glory of color, a memorable history and the picturesque imagination of the artists of that time.

For a tour through the canvas of history visit the Galleria dell'Accademia which is open from 8.15 a.m. to 6.50 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. The Accademia is closed on Mondays and Government holidays. Reserve ahead if you want to beat the crowds. The waiting time to see 'David' can take up to an hour, so to confirm opening hours call: +39-055-2388 and for advanced ticket reservations call: +39-055-2388-609. The tickets cost euro 6.50.

The crowds come just to view "David', but take time to see the fabulous collection of paintings and sculptures. Here are some details to avail the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Galleria invites you to view her vast fortune of an amazing collection: