Uffizi Director Proposes Moving Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women Indoors

Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, has proposed relocating Giambologna's marble statue "Rape of the Sabine Women" from the Loggia dei Lanzi to inside the museum, replacing it with a copy. In an interview with Ansa, Schmidt emphasized the statue's deteriorating condition due to weather and neglect, stating it has worsened over the past 15 years despite monitoring and restoration by the Opificio delle pietre dure. He noted that a similar proposal by former superintendent Antonio Paolucci in the early 2000s failed due to lack of political will. Schmidt argued that creating a copy and moving the original is now more economical and feasible. The statue, created between 1574 and 1580, has long been a conservation concern. Separately, Schmidt announced a major retrospective of German artist Fritz Koenig, scheduled for summer 2018, featuring around 200 works displayed at the Uffizi and Boboli Gardens, including reproductions of his famous "Sphere" that survived the 9/11 attacks, and works from the 1950s and 1960s on the Holocaust. The Uffizi also plans to build an auditorium named after Giorgio Vasari, designed according to his architectural model, to host meetings, conferences, and concerts.