The Gallery takes its name from the fact that
it is located in the palace of the reigning
family and was opened to the public by the House
of Lorraine in 1828. Even today it still preserves
the typical layout of a private collection,
with a sumptuous combination of lavish interior
decoration and the original rich picture frames.
Unlike most of the museums reorganised in recent
times, the Palatine Gallery does not follow
a chronological order nor schools of paintings,
revealing instead the lavishness and personal
taste of the inhabitants of the palace. The
rooms that house the gallery can be entered
from the staircase erected by Ammannati. At
the time of the Medici, these rooms formed the
apartments of the Grand Duke and his audience
rooms. They are partially frescoed by Pietro
da Cortona (1596-1669) with an imposing decorative
cycle that makes use of classical myth to allude
to the Life and education of the Prince. This
complex of frescoes and stuccoes, perhaps the
most representative example of Florentine Baroque,
provides a splendid framework for the displayed
works ranging from the 16th to the 17th centuries.
One of the most significant groups of works
of the collection is formed by the works of
Titian and Raphael, which were received by the
Medici through the will of Vittoria della Rovere,
the last daughter of the Dukes of Urbino and
wife of Ferdinando II de’ Medici. It is
sufficient to remember the Portrait of a gentleman
and Magdalene by Titian and the Madonna of the
Grand Duke, the Madonna of the Chair and the
portrait of Maddalena Doni by Raphael.
The Gallery also offers a full view of 17th
century European painting, displaying very famous
works like the paintings of Rubens (The four
philosophers, The Allegory of war), the portrait
of Cardinal Bentivoglio by Van Dyck, the portraits
by Giusto Sustermans, which portray some of
the personalities of the grand ducal family,
the Madonna with Child by Murillo, the Sleeping
Cupid by Caravaggio, and other portraits by
Frans Pourbus or Velazquez. There are also older
works, all very exceptional, painted by Bronzino,
Fra Bartolomeo, Piero del Pollaiolo and Filippo
Lippi.
Some of the most important rooms, from an historical
and artistic point of view, are the Music Room
decorated and furnished in a neo-classic style;
the Putti room entirely dedicated to Flemish
painting and the Stove room, a masterpiece by
Pietro da Cortona who painted it in 1637 with
the Four Ages of Man, commissioned by the Medici,
which represented the inauguration of the Baroque
season for the Florentine painting school.
