Uffizi Unveils New Autoritratto Display Featuring Comic Artists

The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have inaugurated a new installation of their autoritratto (self-portrait) collection, now including works by 54 Italian comic masters such as Milo Manara, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Altan, alongside a donated self-portrait by Will Eisner, the father of American comics. The temporary exhibition, housed in two 19th-century frescoed rooms by Luigi Ademollo, results from a 2021 agreement between the Galleries and the Lucca Comics and Games festival, specifically its 'Fumetti nei Musei' project curated by Mattia Morandi and Chiara Palmieri. This marks a unique integration of comics into a major international museum's collection. The broader reinstallation of the Uffizi's autoritratto collection—the world's largest and oldest with over 2,000 works previously in the Vasari Corridor—now occupies 12 rooms on the first floor, featuring 255 selected works. The reorganisation was funded by a €1.5 million donation from the Pritzker family. The display spans 600 years of art history, from Taddeo Gaddi to Ai Weiwei, and is integrated into the museum's regular visitor route.