The Uffizi's new German
director has plans for the venerable museum, and is not shy
about making them known.
First off, the long queues "are not acceptable", Eike
Schmidt said as he vowed to cut them down.
Schmidt, who was appointed to the role in August but will
begin in the position this autumn, said that evolving technology
meant long queues no longer had to be part of a visit to a
world-class museum.
He explained that among his top priorities was "cutting the
intolerable queues at the entrance", one of the long-standing
problems of the Uffizi.
"It's not OK to start a visit with hours and hours of
waiting as happens here," he said. "It [the waiting] is too long
compared to other museums. It's not acceptable.
"I have lots of ideas to sort this out. Regarding the
logistics, new technology and a different organisation for
visits might come into play."
Schmidt, 47, also said he wanted to cut the number of major
works that are loaned out to museums around the world.
"With new digital technology it's no longer always
necessary to send the physical painting across the world," he
said.
"Let's try to bring people to see our artwork here, instead
of sending them elsewhere."
He cited the example of Michelangelo's Pietà, which the
Vatican sent to New York in the 1960s.
"Now it no longer makes sense to do things like that," he
said.
"Now it's possible to send excellent digital reproductions
of the work."
He stressed that the Uffizi would continue to loan works
of art internationally "but we will look very carefully at each
and every case".
Schmidt, an art historian born in the southern German city
of Freiburg im Breisgau, has been a curator at art institutions
around the world including Washington D.C.'s National Gallery of
Art, the J. Paul Getty museum in Los Angeles and Sotheby's in
London.
Schmidt knows he must tread carefully when it comes to the
question of renting out the museum for private events after a
number of contentious debates on the subject in recent years.
"We will continue to do it, but only in the bar and on the
terrace," he announced.
"In the main rooms and corridors, it's not practical:
these are spaces organised for the arrival of visitors and to
protect the works of art, not for events".
Featuring high on Schmidt's to-do list is opening the
Vasari Corridor, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the
Palazzo Pitti.
Currently it's only open at specific times during the year,
and visitors have to book in advance.
"It's a pity it's not open to the public," he said. "We
must address the issue."
The director has promised that the works on the Ufizzi
extension will finish "soon".
The job of kitting out of the new rooms will fall to
Antonio Natale, the outgoing director, and Schmidt's "friend for
more than 20 years".
"He's not leaving now," said Schmidt. "In fact he'll
remain at the top and he'll stay in his office.
"The preparation of the new rooms is something that is
truly important to him, so we'll divide the work in the way that
they used to do at the beginning of the museum's history.
"The first director, Giuseppe Bencivenni Pelli, worked
with Luigi Lanzi, whose job it was to fit out the gallery.
"Streets are now dedicated to Lanzi. But none to the
director."
The director's first public project will be on November 17
when Florence Capital - the Gifts and the Collections of the
King" opens at Palazzo Pitti.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
