Lecture Access

This lecture will be available to view until 3 August 2026

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OVERVIEW

Watch on Demand | Online Lecture


Renowned worldwide for its exceptional collections, the Uffizi in Florence offers a layered account of Western art long before the flowering of the Renaissance. 

Its earliest holdings trace the survival of classical form through Roman sculpture and the gradual emergence of new visual languages in medieval painting. Together, these works reflect a city shaped by inherited models, religious devotion, and evolving approaches to representation.

Ancient sculptures embodied ideals of proportion and physical presence, whereas medieval panels emphasised narrative clarity, symbolic colours, and devotional themes. Materials, techniques, and iconography show how artists balanced continuity with change, adapting classical models to meet new theological and cultural needs. Florence’s position as a hub of trade and learning supported these artistic exchanges, fostering an environment where traditions were preserved, adapted, and transmitted.

The initial collections at the Uffizi reveal that the Renaissance developed gradually from enduring traditions and visual norms. These pieces create a cohesive tradition that established the artistic foundation for future innovations. 

In this lecture, Kate Bolton-Porciatti takes audiences on a journey through the Uffizi’s early collections, spanning from antiquity to the medieval era.

LECTURER

Biography

Kate Bolton-Porciatti (MPhil.) is a professor of Italian cultural history at the Istituto Lorenzo de’Medici in Florence, where she teaches BA and MA courses in the humanities. She also lectures regularly at the British Institute, Florence, and at the Chigiana Academy in Siena. Before moving to Italy permanently in 2005, she was a senior producer and broadcaster for BBC Arts & Classical Music in London and has won prestigious Jerusalem and Sony Awards for her programs. She has published extensively as an academic, a critic and a journalist. Her MPhil thesis set the music of early 15th-century Florence in its social and cultural context.

Kate Bolton-Porciatti

Cultural Historian