Uffizi acquire Pierre Subleyras Mystical Marriage
August 1 2024
Picture: Uffizi
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news that the Uffizi in Florence have acquired Pierre Subleyras's The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine de' Ricci. The painting, which is signed and dated 1746, was acquired from Filippo Benappi's stand at TEFAF earlier this year.
According to the related press release:
The Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, stated: "The 'Mystical Marriage' is a work of primary importance for 18th-century art and will be a prominent new addition to the museum's 18th-century rooms. Besides its refined aesthetics and compositional elegance, it significantly reflects the taste of the circle of nobles and intellectuals around the Roman Curia in the mid-18th century. It is a true masterpiece, rare to find on the market, that will enrich the Uffizi's 18th-century collections, filling a significant gap and representing another step towards completing the pictorial history of Italy pursued by Luigi Lanzi, a mission that remains central to the museum today due to its national and international collection significance."
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This was a truly magical painting to see in-person and I even took some photographs of it on my phone to try and capture something of its beauty. The interaction of the figures, putti and their respective faces and gestures seems to allow for a suspension of time. Only the best paintings can do this, I think.
I don't know why the museum hasn't uploaded a better image online, the photograph above does no justice to it at all!
