Outgoing head of the Uffizi Gallery: Eike Schmidt moves to Naples

12/16/2023, 4:09:24 PM

Highlights: Eike Schmidt has been head of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence since 2015. He will take up his new post at the Capodimonte National Museum in Naples. Schmidt is 55 years old and was born in Freiburg. He had recently made headlines mainly because of his political ambitions in Florence. The Museo Nazionale di Capodamonte in Naples is one of the most important art institutions in Italy. All schools of Italian painting are represented in the collections, including works by Caravaggio and Michelangelo.

Since 2015, Eike Schmidt has been director of the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Now the Freiburg native is to occupy a new top post. He had recently made headlines mainly because of his political ambitions.

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Museum Director Eike Schmidt: At the helm of the Uffizi Gallery since 2015

Photo: Luca Bruno / dpa

The outgoing director of the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Eike Schmidt, will head the Capodimonte National Museum in Naples in the future. The Italian Ministry of Culture elected the German-Italian art historian as the new director of the renowned museum, as Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano announced. Schmidt is one of the most important museum directors and has international experience, Sangiuliano said at the presentation.

In recent weeks, Schmidt has hit the headlines primarily because of his political activities. There was speculation that the right-wing populist party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Fratelli d'Italia, wanted to put him up as a mayoral candidate for Florence in the upcoming local elections, or at least support him. Schmidt had only recently taken Italian citizenship.

In September, he told Bayrischer Rundfunk that it was absolutely true that "a heated debate had arisen" about whether or not he should "run for the next mayor of Florence." A little later, he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he would "seriously consider" a candidacy. However, an appointment to Naples – Schmidt had already applied for the post at the time – would make this "less likely".

German dual leadership?

Schmidt is 55 years old and was born in Freiburg. He has been head of the Uffizi Gallery since 2015 and will take up his new post at the end of the year. "I was really very moved," he told Corriere della Sera after the election.

The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples is one of the most important art institutions in Italy. All schools of Italian painting are represented in the collections, including works by Caravaggio and Michelangelo, as well as Sandro Botticelli. The museum also houses the second largest drawing cabinet in Italy after the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The outgoing director of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, the German Cecilie Hollberg, is also to be involved in the management of the museum according to the will of Minister Sangiuliano.

Rai