52 Italian Comic Artists' Self-Portraits Enter Uffizi Collection

Fifty-two self-portraits by leading Italian comic artists, including Altan, Vincenzo Filosa, Marino Neri, Paolo Parisi, Alice Socal, and Zuzu, were previewed at Lucca Comics & Games 2021 and will become part of the permanent collection of the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence. The exhibition is dedicated to the late master Tuono Pettinato and stems from a protocol signed between the Uffizi and the Tuscan festival to promote comics in Italy and abroad. After the Lucca preview (open until November 1), the works will be permanently housed in the Uffizi's new rooms dedicated to its historic self-portrait collection. Uffizi director Eike Schmidt stated that comics have finally entered the Uffizi with force, calling it a 'jump start.' Culture Minister Dario Franceschini thanked the artists for their donation, noting that this new fund makes the Uffizi one of the first classical art museums to bet on the vitality of the ninth art. Curators Mattia Morandi and Chiara Palmieri explained that the exhibition continues a path begun in 2017 with the 'Fumetti nei Musei' project, which broke the ice between the Ministry of Culture and the comics world, establishing comics as an artistic sector for everyone. The 52 donated works offer a view of contemporary Italian comics, spanning generations, genres, styles, and languages.