Uffizi masterpieces and the Black culture's role in the Renaissance

Italy’s Uffizi gallery announced yesterday that it was planning to pick out nine of its masterpieces for a project to highlight the part that Black people and culture played in the Renaissance.

Under the “Black Presence” initiative, images of works including Cristofano dell’Altissimo’s “Portrait of the King of Abyssinia” will be posted and shared on social media and several internet platforms from this weekend for a series of discussions and other events.

he painting "Perseus frees Andromeda" by Piero di Cosimo is seen at the Uffizi gallery, one of the artworks featured in its "Black Presence" project that explores Black culture in in Renaissance art by bringing together artworks from their collection with leading Black figures and will be discussed on social media on July 4, in this undated handout photo in Florence, Italy. Obtained by Reuters. Gallerie degli Uffizi/Handout via REUTERS

“The idea is also to offer food for thought in the debate on racial issues currently making the front pages and taking centre stage in the political debate,” the gallery announced in a statement.

Opening events on Saturday include a concert in front of Piero di Cosimo’s “Perseus Freeing Andromeda” which has a Black musician playing in the foreground.

The Uffizi staff also explained that a series of eight videoed discussions will be posted on Facebook every week throughout the summer, to stand against racism and to support the protests around the world showing the significance of Black culture through the Renaissance art.

Italy's Uffizi gallery launches a project exploring racial inequality and Black culture in Renaissance. Image credit Yahoo News

“(Uffizi) masterpieces speak a universal language that helps us not only to comprehend their era better, but also to understand the future that we wish to build”, Uffizi director Eike Schmidt pointed out.

Other paintings also included “Adoration of the Magi” by Albrecht Dürer.