Eighty-two works of art from the Uffizi Gallery collection will be on show from next week in Shanghai, the first time the Italian museum has held such a large-scale exhibition on the mainland.

Uffizi is one of the most important and visited museums in Italy and was founded by the Medici family in Florence, 1581. It contains the foremost collections of Italian Renaissance paintings in the world.

The exhibition will display not only the works of Florentine artists, like Sandro Botticelli, but masterpieces by artists from other parts of Italy, like Jacopo Tintoretto and Titian Tiziano Vecellio as well as classical works from leading artists in Germany, French and the Netherlands.

Organized in chronological order, from the 15th to the 20th centuries, and classified in the three genres of landscape, still life and portraits, these paintings are world class.

The collection was allowed to travel thanks to a large construction project at the Italian gallery.

James Kang, CEO of China-Italy Museum League Culture Media Co Ltd, who is organizer on China's side, is excited about the show.

"It is a once-in-a-century opportunity for Chinese art lovers to be able to see the Uffizi. I feel greatly honored to bring these precious works to China," Kang says.

Patrizia Pietrogrande, president of Contemporanea Progetti Srl, organizer on the Italian side, said the paintings have been very carefully packed to avoid damage from humidity during transportation.

A new ultraviolet lighting system imported from Germany has also been installed in the exhibition hall.

The Adoration of the Magi, by Sandro Botticelli, is one of the most valuable paintings in the exhibition; while the various pictures of the Medici family are also fascinating.

The exhibition will run at Shanghai Museum between March 11 and June 6. This will be followed by visits to four more Chinese cities before the gallery concludes its 1.5-year tour of the country.

China Daily

(China Daily 03/11/2010 page18)