5 Must-See Paintings at the Uffizi Gallery

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Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) November 13, 2010 -- The Uffizi Gallery, one of Italy’s top museums, attracts art and culture lovers from all over the word. Its artwork collection consists of paintings and sculpture from famous Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Giotto. The magnificent art on display is a fraction of the Gallery’s permanent collection. Here are five of the Gallery’s masterpieces that should not be missed:

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5 Must-See Paintings at the Uffizi Gallery

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1. The Birth of Venus - A famous painting by Italian Renaissance painter, Sandro Botticelli, of goddess Venus, landing at the sea-shore. Botticelli depicts Venus in a gentle and demure pose, traditionally held by the Virgin Mary. Interestingly, most nude subjects during the time of the Renaissance represented sinful lust. However, in this painting, Venus is portrayed almost as a “holy” figure.

2. Annunciation - Leonardo da Vinci's depiction of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus, an important Christian event. The angel holds a Madonna lily, a symbol of Mary's virginity and of the city of Florence. The original wings of the angel were similar to a bird. However, they were severely retouched and lengthened by a later unknown artist. This work was created when the artist was around 20 years old.

3. Venus of Urbino - A 1538 oil painting by the Italian master Titian. This erotic work portrays an undressed young woman reclining on a couch or bed in the ornate surroundings of a Renaissance palace. The woman is identified with the goddess Venus, a popular subject during the Renaissance. Her inviting pose and unafraid gaze suggests that she is promiscuous or unfaithful. The painter’s placement of the subject and the dark, shadowy background indicates that he wanted his viewers to focus on the sensuality of the painting.

4. Madonna of the Goldfinch - A painting by Raphael of the Mary with baby Jesus who is stroking a goldfinch, a symbol of his future violent death. The painting was a wedding gift from Raphael to his friend Lorenzo Nasi. In 1548 Nasi's house was destroyed by an earthquake and the painting broke into seventeen pieces. It was restored shortly afterwards, but the damage was still visible.

5. The Battle of San Romano - A set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello depicting events that took place at the battle of San Romano in 1432. The paintings are in tempera on wooden panels, each over 9 feet long, and were used to decorate the newly built Medici Palace in Florence. The other two paintings portray the same battle but at different times of the day, dawn and dusk. It is believed that all three were arranged according to the time sequence of the event. The other paintings are located at the National Gallery of London and the Louvre.

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