The Uffizi Gallery on
Thursday will be celebrating the wedding anniversary on January
31, 1503, of Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi with discounts
for couples who will be paying only one ticket that day, the
gallery's director, Eike Schmidt, has said.
The museum's collection includes the celebrated Doni Tondo, a
round painting of the Holy Family commissioned by the Florentine
merchant and his wife to Michelangelo, possibly to celebrate the
birth of their daughter Maria.
Schimdt said the museum wanted to offer couples an early
Valentine's Day gift and "symbolically celebrate the greatness
of love on the anniversary of a union, between Agnolo and
Maddalena, which changed art history forever".
Raphael in 1504-1505 painted two canvases of Doni and
Strozzi, which are positioned next to the Doni Tondo in the
Uffizi's "Raphael and Michelangelo Room".
Raphael "portrayed the couple and for them the divine
Michelangelo made the celebrated Tondo with the Holy Family",
the director noted.
As part of the 'Festa dei Doni', experts will offer a tour to
visitors to explain the history of the couple's wedding and of
the three masterpieces by Michelangelo and Raphael.
The Gallery's Auditorium Vasari will also host a lesson on
the Tondo on Thursday afternoon.
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