World – Raphael’s young face, dark eyes and gentle features, meets the absorbed gaze of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the blue face of Chagall, the dry features of Giorgio Morandi, like his still lifes, while the portrait of Nicola van Houbraken tears apart the canvas as if to want to get out of the picture.
These are some of the 50 self-portraits of the great masters of the brush, temporarily released from Uffizi Galleries to reach China where, at the Bund One Art Museum in Shanghai, they can be admired until next January 8th.
The exhibition entitled Self-portraits. Masterpieces from the Uffizi, curated by Alessandra Griffo and Vanessa Gavioli, inaugurates the first chapter of a collaborative project, part of the events scheduled for 2022, the Year of Culture and Tourism Italy-China. The project will see a total of ten exhibitions that will embrace various segments of the Galleries’ collections, scheduled for the next five years, while the Chinese museum will offer the Uffizi financial support of over six million euros.

Preparation of the exhibition Self-portraits. Masterpieces from the Uffizi | Courtesy of the Uffizi Galleries

The international exhibition will see for the first time in China a selection from the collection of self-portraits of the Uffizi Gallery, the largest in the world with its over two thousand pieces. Since it was started by Cardinal Leopoldo de ‘Medici in the seventeenth century, this collection has never been interrupted over the centuries, and still today continues to enrich itself thanks to targeted acquisitions of works by artists who are no longer alive and donations from contemporary masters. not fearing rivals in the museum panorama all over the world.
On the other hand, the self-portrait represents the only way for living artists to open a passage in the prestigious collection of the famous Vasari museum, just think of the recent reception reserved for works of street art and comics.

Preparation of the exhibition Self-portraits. Masterpieces from the Uffizi | Courtesy of the Uffizi Galleries

The first to fly to the East, protagonists of the exhibition in Shanghai, will be, among others, theAutocoffee by Giacomo Balla, the self-portrait of Guttuso and that of Raphael, but also Rembrandt and Rubens. These gazes gain strength as a whole, offering the viewer the privilege of physically reviewing eyes that each tell their own era.
The extensive multi-year program is the result of a shared effort, supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of Italy in the People’s Republic of China, the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai and the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, aimed at promote the enhancement of the Italian museum system and artistic heritage in the world.

Preparation of the exhibition Self-portraits. Masterpieces from the Uffizi | Courtesy of the Uffizi Galleries

“While the individual personality of each artist can be grasped in each of these paintings, putting together such a well-chosen group of self-portrait masterpieces highlights the special responsibility of artists as great communicators of the development of human society – comments the director of the Uffizi Galleries Eike Schmidt -. 2022 is the Year of Culture and Tourism Italy-China The Uffizi are therefore particularly happy to share such a significant selection of our superb collection of self-portraits with the Shanghai public at this particular moment. ”