Discover the Artworks at Accademia Gallery, Florence

Sculptures

The collection of sculptures at the Accademia Gallery is dominated by masters like Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, and Giambologna. You will find an endless stream of breathtaking statues displayed in the exquisite Hall of Prisoners. Also, the Gipsoteca Bartolini (Hall of Models) is where you can gaze upon neatly-lined rows of plaster casts and models of Bartolini and Pampaloni’s most distinguished works.  

Paintings

Accademia Gallery’s art collection includes paintings from the 13th century to the 19th century. Here, you will find Lorenzo Monaco’s late-Gothic artwork along with striking altarpieces from the 1500s and 1600s. You will also be able to view the outstanding Renaissance paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Fra Bartolomeo, and Filippino Lippi as well as the Mannerist masterpieces by Andrea del Sarto and Pontormo. Lastly, the prized collection is rounded off by the magnificent works of 19th-century artists.    

Musical Instruments

Opened in 2001, the Department of Musical Instruments allows visitors to glance back in time to the musical scene of the Medicean court. The collection of fifty antique musical instruments dating from the 17th to 19th century constitutes an essential part of the artworks at Accademia Gallery.

Do not skip the exciting opportunity to explore the different instruments which, in many cases, were the first prototypes of the musical instruments we love and use today.

Historical Archives

The historical archives collections include the Lorenzo Bartolini Historical Archive and the Gatti Kraus Donation.

The Lorenzo Bartolini historical archive contains personal and work correspondence, notebooks with drawings, and printed material from 1810 to 1850. The Musical Instruments Department of the Gallery, on the other hand, houses a collection of books that belonged to Alessandro Kraus, musicologist, anthropologist and great Florentine collector. Donated by Mirella Gatti-Kraus in 2008, the collection includes over 200 volumes on historical-musical topics and 387 opera librettos, with some ancient and rare editions.

The Lorenzo Bartolini Historical Archive

The archive contains a vast collection of letters related to art commissions, legal documents, and drafts from 1810 until 1850, the year of his death. Additionally, it offers a look at his personal notebooks which contain detailed drawings of his most cherished works. With a detailed inventory, the archive provides an insight into the last few decades of the famous sculptor’s life.

Gatti Krauss Donation

The Gatti Krauss Donation was started in honor of Alessandro Kraus, a prominent musicologist, collector, and anthropologist from the 19th century. The Accademia museum received a generous donation by his heir, Mirella Gatti-Kraus in 2008 and, since then, it has expanded the collection even further. Visitors can now skim through the vast collection of music monographs, around 200 volumes on music history, and some extremely rare opera librettos.