History and Significance of Accademia Gallery

The Accademia Gallery, is popularly known as Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze. There are some of the most well-known and exquisite historical artifacts and important Accademia Gallery artworks from all around the world, especially Italy. The Accademia Gallery stands second in the list of popularity as Uffizi takes the first spot in Italy.


The Accademia Gallery is famous for exhibiting David, Michelangelo's 17-foot-tall Renaissance-era work of art.St. Matthew, the Pietà of Palestrina, and the iconic Michelangelo statues known as the Prisons are also still standing.


At the Accademia Gallery, there are just so many lovely things to view. Although the museum is substantially smaller than the Uffizi, it is a two-story building with 24 rooms that hold nearly 800 paintings inside the Accademia Gallery collection, which includes works by well-known painters including Titian, Bellini, Veronese, and many others.

History and Significance of Accademia Gallery
  • The Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine built The Accademia Gallery in 1784 to serve as a teaching area for the local students of the Academy of Fine Arts.


  • The Accademia Gallery is located in the old buildings of Saint Matthew Hospital and the Convent of Saint Nicolo of Cafaggio. The artwork was displayed in the halls of these ancient buildings for teaching the students of the Academy of Fine Arts.


  • Paintings at Accademia Gallery are collected from monasteries and convents that were shut down by Napoleon in 1810 and Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine at the close of the 18th century were gradually added to the collection at the Accademia Gallery.


  • Michelangelo's statue of David at Piazza Della Signoria was moved to the Accademia Gallery in 1873 for conservation purposes, despite the fact that the original plan was to establish a Michelangelo museum with original sculptures and sketches to commemorate the artist's fourth centennial.


  • Emilio de Fabris, an architect, presented Michelangelo with a unique tribune for this event that had a huge, projecting skylight to cover David. This structure was finally finished in 1882.


  • The Gallery underwent a reconstruction between the close of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth when it was administratively distinct from the Accademia di Belle Arti and some of the old paintings had been sent to other municipal institutions.


  • Other Michelangelo masterpieces, such as the statue of St. Matthew acquired in 1906 and the four substantial sculptures of the Slaves/Prisoners that were brought from Grotta del Buontalenti in the Boboli Gardens in 1909, were also added at the same time, enhancing the Accademia Gallery.


  • In 1892, the Accademia Gallery was converted into a public museum hall along with the Hall of the Colossus and the Byzantine Halls were opened in the mid-1950s.


  • Plaster castings of Lorenzo Bartolini and a vast section devoted to musical instruments were also annexed, demonstrating the Medici family's love of theatre and music.

Historical Facts about the Accademia Gallery

Interesting Facts
  • One of the interesting facts about Accademia Gallery is that the Accademia Gallery is also referred to as the Museum of Michelangelo.


  • David by Michelangelo is the most famous and widely known piece of art at the Accademia Gallery.


  • The Accademia Gallery was mainly built in 1784 by The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, as a teaching space for the local students of fine arts.


  • Pietro Leopoldo, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, built this building in 1784 to serve as a teaching space for the students of the local Academy of Fine Arts.


  • The sculpture statue of David was created by Michelangelo and was obtained by the Accademia Gallery in 1873 from the Palazzo Vecchio.


  • David by Michelangelo also referred to as Tribuna del David is 17 feet tall as its marbles were repaired in 2003 and installed in a particular wing of the Accademia Gallery on the ground floor.


  • The Work of Prisoners is a set of 4 unfinished sculptures that were built for the tomb of Pope Julius II by Michelangelo.


  • In the 1900s the Department of Musical Instruments was added to the collection of the Accademia Gallery where one of the instruments is from the Cherubini Conservatory and is home to the oldest upright piano in existence.


  • Two chambers on the second floor of the gallery are devoted to altarpieces from the 1300s and 1400s. The Galleria dei Prigioni (Prisoner's Gallery) has a large selection of 17th and 18th-century works by Michelangelo, as well as his own David.

FAQ

What is the oldest sculpture at Accademia Gallery?

    The original David by Michelangelo is the oldest sculpture at Accademia Gallery which has been kept in the Galleria dell'Accademia since 1873. Although various considerations may have contributed to the sculpture's relocation from its prior outdoor setting on Piazza Della Signoria, it was purposely transported to the Accademia for conservation purposes.

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