Uffizi scientific committee resigns over loan of Raphael's 'Portrait of Leo X' to Rome exhibition

The scientific committee of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence has resigned en masse over director Eike Schmidt's decision to lend Raphael's 'Portrait of Leo X' to a major exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, despite the painting being considered immovable. The exhibition, opening March 5, 2020, marks the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death and has already sold over 60,000 tickets. The committee members—Fabrizio Moretti, Donata Levi, Tomaso Montanari, and Claudio Pizzorusso—stated in a letter to the Ministry of University and the Municipality of Florence that their months-long work on lists of immovable works had been ignored, rendering the committee's advisory role meaningless. Schmidt defended his decision, citing patriotism (Rome is the capital of Italy) and the painting's good condition after a three-year restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, funded by Lottomatica, in preparation for the anniversary. The resignations have sparked debate over the role of scientific committees in Italy's autonomous museums.