He finally went to the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence

Updated 1/3/2026

Works here were shot in three separate visits... two might have been enough but you notice something different every time you go! Presented here based on creation date in more or less chronological order.

Pre- and early renaissance

None of them really do much for me but I guess I'm including them for the sake of completeness. Like I've repeated ad nauseum, these were necessary steps to get to the true masterworks 40 or 50 years later, but on their own? You can keep them. Give some of the artists credit for technical innovations though - the fact that their colors are still brilliant 550+ years later is pretty cool.

Crucifix with Scenes from the Life of Christ by Maestro della Croce — *Crucifix with Scenes from the Life of Christ* by Maestro della Croce, circa 1240. This one's so wildly offbeat I couldn't resist.

Coronation of the Virgin by Lippi — *Coronation of the Virgin* by Filippo Lippi, 1439 - 1447.

The Three Archangels and Tobias by Botticini — *The Three Archangels and Tobias* by Francesco Botticini, 1470 - 1475.

Annunciation by daVinci — *Annunciation* by Leonardo da Vinci, 1472 - 1475. Stiff figures, odd single-point perspective... what's not to love? Sorry I can't stop hating.

Adoration of the Magi by daVinci — *Adoration of the Magi* by Leonardo da Vinci, 1481 - 1482. SO much better. Okay it was ten years later, but more importantly he didn't ruin the excellent drawing with his so-so painting!

Birth of Venus by Botticelli — *Birth of Venus* by Botticelli, circa 1485. Zoom in to check out how he painted the ocean waves. Like he'd never seen the ocean!

Madonna and Child with the Archangels Michael and Raphael with Sainted Bishops Justus and Zenobius by Ghirlandaio — *Madonna and Child with the Archangels Michael and Raphael with Sainted Bishops Justus and Zenobius* by Ghirlandaio, circa 1486.

Holy Family by Signorelli — *Holy Family* by Luca Signorelli, 1485 - 1490.

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints John the Baptist, Victor, Bernard, and Zenobius by Lippi — *Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints John the Baptist, Victor, Bernard, and Zenobius* by Filippino Lippi, 1485 - 1486.

Adoration of the Magi by Lippi — *Adoration of the Magi* by Filippino Lippi, 1496. I'll take this guy over Leonardo any day.

Portrait of His Father by Dürer — *Portrait of His Father* by Albrecht Dürer, 1490. In school we talked about him a lot, especially his drawings. The drawing skill is in full evidence here and the painting compliments it rather than detracting from it.

High Renaissance

Madonna of the Goldfinch by Rafael — *Madonna of the Goldfinch* by Rafael Sanzio, 1505 - 1506.

Holy Family with the Young St. John the Baptist by Michelangelo — *Holy Family with the Young St. John the Baptist* by Michelangelo, 1505 - 1507. Apparently his only documented panel painting. Nicely done!

Madonna and Child with Saints Francis of Assisi and John the Evangelist by del Sarto — *Madonna and Child with Saints Francis of Assisi and John the Evangelist* by Andrea del Sarto, circa 1517.

Portrait of a Young Lady by del Sarto — *Portrait of a Young Lady* by Andrea del Sarto, 1528.

Vallombrosa Altarpiece by del Sarto — *Vallombrosa Altarpiece* by Andrea del Sarto, 1528. He really grew on me as I saw more of his work.

Rest on the Flight to Egypt with St. Francis by Correggio — *Rest on the Flight to Egypt with St. Francis* by Correggio, circa 1520.

The Adoration of the Child by Correggio — *The Adoration of the Child* by Correggio, 1524 - 1526.

Madonna and Child with the Young St. John by Pontormo — *Madonna and Child with the Young St. John* by Pontormo, 1529 - 1530.

Mannerism and Late Renaissance

Apparently anything after 1520 or so is considered mannerism (as in, in their manner, or style). The idea as I understand it is that before then artists were looking to depict without imposing an individual style, while afterwards those styles became more prominent.

Madonna and Child with Saints by Parmigianino — *Madonna and Child with Saints* by Parmigianino, 1531 - 1534. The elongated figures are kind of his trademark.

The Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino — *Madonna and Child, Angels and a Prophet*, or *The Madonna with the Long Neck* by Parmigianino, 1534 - 1540.

Portrait of Sir Richard Southwell by Holbein the Younger — *Portrait of Sir Richard Southwell* by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1536. Like a mirror image of the Dürer painting above. Sir Richard seems very engaged with his portraiture session.

Venus of Urbino by Titian — *Venus of Urbino* by Titian, 1538. Renaissance erotica? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this and *Christ and the Good Thief* are by the same artist. They were painted 25 years apart and that explains a lot, sort of like Rembrandt's early vs. later work, I guess.

Portrait of Bishop Ludovico Beccadelli by Titian — *Portrait of Bishop Ludovico Beccadelli* by Titian, 1552. As portraits of the elites go this one's not too bad.

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden by Tintoretto — *The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden* by Tintoretto, circa 1550. Here for the sake of completeness. Apart from Adam I feel like Mr. T. kinda mailed it in.

Esther and Ahasuerus by Veronese (?) — *Esther and Ahasuerus* by Veronese (?), 1560 - 1569. NOT mailed in, regardless of who painted it.

Virgin of the People by Barocci — *Virgin of the People* by Federico Barocci, 1579. One of the museum guards yelled at me ("Bravo! Bravissimo!") as I took this; I was leaning against a cement bench and apparently it was just too much. Another ugly American, what did he expect?

*Tribuna of the Uffizi*. The room was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1584 as a showcase for the Medici's most important antiquities and renaissance art. There is always a line to peek inside and you can't get close to anything so you're almost as well off just looking for photos online.

Portrait of a Man with a Monkey by Carracci — *Portrait of a Man with a Monkey* by Annibale Carracci, 1588 - 1590.

Bacchus by Caravaggio — *Bacchus* by Caravaggio, circa 1596. Yeah yeah, Caravaggio, chiaroscuro, I get it. Feels like more renaissance erotica to me. It's better than the medusa at least!

Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio — *Sacrifice of Isaac* by Caravaggio, 1603 - 1604. This is more like it.

St. John the Evangelist and St. Francis by El Greco — *St. John the Evangelist and St. Francis* by El Greco, circa 1600. I was never a huge fan of his but showing respect.

Calvary by Brueghel the Elder — *Calvary* by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1604. Some of those old Dutch guys sure loved busy scenes. But the color, wow!

The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Commodi — *The Fall of the Rebel Angels* by Andrea Commodi, 1614 - 1617. Such an oddball! He starts with that red-brown base that I guess evokes the flames of damnation? But then the fallen angels are all contained within that black envelope... of nothingness? It's like it's finished but not. Technically excellent despite all that, hopefully the nasty reflections don't detract too much.

Wedding Feast by delle Notti — *Wedding Feast* by Gherardo delle Notti, 1613 - 1617. He was actually Dutch but the Italians nicknamed him; "delle Notti" translates as "of the nights." Nighttime candlelit scenes were his thing so the moniker makes sense.

Adoration of the Child by delle Notti — *Adoration of the Child* by Gherardo delle Notti, 1619 - 1620. He was really good with this kind of lighting! I kept thinking I should adjust the color balance of the photos but no, the paintings really *are* this yellow.

The Waterseller of Seville by Velázquez — *The Waterseller of Seville* by Velázquez, 1618 - 1622.

Judith Slaying Holofernes by Gentileschi — *Judith Slaying Holofernes* by Artemisia Gentileschi, 1620 - 1621. In the same room as the stupid medusa and that gets all the attention, yeesh.

Henry IV of France at the Battle of Ivry by Rubens — *Henry IV of France at the Battle of Ivry* by Peter Paul Rubens, 1628 - 1630. And sculptures in the way. I'm neither a huge fan of Rubens nor of battle scenes but these are fantastic.

Henry IV of France Enters Paris Triumphant by Rubens — *Henry IV of France Enters Paris Triumphant* by Peter Paul Rubens, 1628 - 1630. And more statues.

Portrait of a Young Man by Rembrandt — *Portrait of a Young Man* by Rembrandt, circa 1639.

Self-Portrait with a Key on His Belt by Velázquez — *Self-Portrait with a Key on His Belt* by Velázquez, after 1643.

The Young Baccus by Reni — *The Young Baccus* by Guido Reni, 1651.

Rembrandt self portrait — *Self Portrait* by Rembrandt, circa 1655. By this time he'd lived his share of tragedy.

Detail of Rembrandt self portrait — Detail.

A Rabbi by Rembrandt — *A Rabbi* by Rembrandt, 1665. You can feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Post-renaissance

I arbitrarily chose Rembrandt as the last "renaissance" artist but if you ask an art historian I'm probably completely off.

Self-Portrait by Girolamo — *Self-Portrait* by Forabosco Girolamo, late 1600s. Maybe it's the eyes? Kinda Rembrandt-esque.

Self-Portrait by Pignoni — *Self-Portrait* by Simone Pignoni, circa 1682.

The Glory of St. Phillip Neri, sketch for the vault of San Firenze by Sagrestani — *The Glory of St. Phillip Neri, sketch for the vault of San Firenze* by Giovanni Sagrestani, 1714 - 1715.

The Scullery Maid by Crespi — *The Scullery Maid* by Giuseppe Crespi, 1720 - 1725.

Self-Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds — *Self-Portrait* by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1775.