GIPSOTECA BARTOLINI ( Síň modelů )

The Gipsoteca Bartolini sits within Florence’s Accademia Gallery, housing over 300 plasterworks. These pieces show how sculptors turned their ideas into art. Named after Lorenzo Bartolini, this collection tells the story of a craftsman who shaped 19th-century Italian art.

Bartolini began life in Tuscany’s Vernio village. Though he started humble, his skill with stone opened doors. In Paris, he learned from the best at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. His big break came when Napoleon’s sister Elisa noticed his work. She gave him chances to prove himself, and prove himself he did.

His way of working broke new ground. Instead of copying old Greek statues, he looked at real people. He watched how they moved and showed their feelings. At first, other artists didn’t like this new approach. But time proved him right. Young sculptors came from Europe to learn from him at Florence’s Academy.

One such student, Luigi Pampaloni, took these lessons to heart. He became known for catching how people looked and who they were. You can see this in his famous statue of Galileo in Santa Croce church. Pampaloni carried forward his teacher’s ideas about natural poses and genuine emotion in stone.

The collection shows the whole process of making sculptures. You’ll find small test pieces following full-size models. Some works show Napoleon’s family members, telling us about Bartolini’s connection to French royalty. Others capture the faces of Russian nobles and British thinkers who made Florence their second home.

Among the most famous pieces is “Fiducia in Dio” (Trust in God), made in 1835. It shows a young woman kneeling in prayer, capturing natural beauty and deep feeling. This work indicates what made Bartolini special – his ability to make the stone look alive with emotion.

Today, the collection sits in a room with powder-blue walls that make the white plaster stand out. The space feels much like Bartolini’s old workshop in the San Frediano monastery.

These works survived Florence’s big flood in 1966 when the Arno River threatened much of the city’s art. Two art experts, Cecilie Hollberg and Carlo Sisi, recently fixed the gallery to show these pieces in their best light.

Visitors can see these works with a regular ticket to the Galerie Accademia . Morning light makes the sculptures look their best. The museum lets you take pictures without a flash, and guides can tell you the stories behind each piece. Signs in different languages help explain the critical works, and special tours can teach you even more about how these artists worked.

The collection shows more than just art – it tells us about a time when Florence was full of artists and thinkers from all over Europe. These plaster works were more than practice pieces. They were teaching tools, showing students how to capture the human spirit in stone. Bartolini and Pampaloni helped change how people thought about sculpture, moving away from stiff classical poses to something more true to life.”