"Wax upon a time. The Medici and the arts of ceroplastics" at the Uffizi gallery

On the ground floor of the Uffizi Gallery, a truly interesting and surprising exhibition has been set up, sure to attract also many enthusiasts of the macabre and the unusual.
Wax upon a time. The Medici and the arts of ceroplastics, is an exhibition entirely dedicated to this ancient yet largely unknown art, a genre that enjoyed great success in Medici Florence between the 15th and the late 17th centuries.

Approximately 90 works are on display, including wax figures, paintings, sculptures, cameos, and works in pietra dura.
An entire room is dedicated to Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, the greatest wax sculptor active in Florence at the end of the 17th century. Of particular interest is his work titled "The Corruption of Bodies," a masterpiece of technical expertise, which addresses the theme of death and human transience in a rather macabre style, in keeping with the scientific taste of the 17th century.
Also on display are the Soul Screaming in Hell, attributed to Giulio de' Grazia, and the famous plaster death mask of Lorenzo the Magnificent, created by the sculptor Orsino Benintendi.
Wax sculpture was first mentioned in the 1st century AD in Pliny the Elder's Natural History. It was used for Etruscan funerary masks, physiognomic portraits for ancestor worship, scientific anatomical wax models, and even elegant polychrome wax models rich in minute details, such as the portrait of Francesco I de' Medici here on display.

Wax is a readily available organic material, particularly suited to imitating the characteristics of skin, which is why it was widely used for artistic and scientific reproductions. However, it is also a perishable material; few of these incredibly realistic works have survived the test of time.
This is the first exhibition dedicated to wax works from Florentine collections of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it demonstrates once again how farsighted the Medici were as collectors, recognizing the talent of wax modeller and protecting their creations.
The exhibition has successfully brought together works that were dispersed with the arrival of the Lorenza family, and has given them a context for retracing their history.