An odd bunch

Artists’ Self-Portraits from the Uffizi

The Uffizi is to Florence what the National Gallery is to London, and part of its astonishing collection is devoted to a unique array of self-portraits, housed now in the Corridoio Vasariano. This long corridor, which links the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti, was designed by Giorgio Vasari, artist, architect and grandfather of art history with his classic Lives of the Artists. The self-portrait collection was begun in the 17th century by Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici, and has been added to ever since, but its documentation has never been precise. Thus there are two self-portraits by Guercino in the collection, both disputed by scholars, but neither seems to be the one originally commissioned by the Cardinal. Here already is part of the legend surrounding the collection — its strange variability and in some cases its questionable authenticity. Added to this, the Vasari Corridor is not particularly accessible to the general public, so it is more familiar from report than first-hand experience.