KVM_M_009 KUMARI VAIM ON AASTAID LÄÄNERANNA VALLA MEESTE VASTU HUVI TUNDNUD _ JOHAN ZOFFANY 1772-1777 / LIPUTHA JAMANTELL 2020-2025
Johan Joseph Zoffany, Tribuna of the Uffizi, 1772–1777, Royal Collection Trust, London, UK.
Daily Art Magazine
Klaudia Zelazowska
26 September 2023
Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) was a German-born neoclassical painter. In the autumn of 1760, he moved to England and started to work for a clockmaker, Stephen Rimbault, painting vignettes for his clocks. Luckily, he was noticed by the royal family and enjoyed the patronage of King George III and Queen Charlotte starting in 1764. Among others, he created their family portrait titled George III, Queen Charlotte, and their Six Eldest Children (1770). But today, we won’t talk about royal portraits. We want to tell you the story behind the most famous masterpiece The Tribuna of the Uffizi by Johan Zoffany.
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However, ten years after hanging the masterpiece in the Kew House, the famous madness of George III was becoming more and more intense. Once, the king tried to destroy the artwork in a rage, so it was removed from the royal residence for its protection. Many years have passed since then, and now we can admire this great masterpiece in the Royal Collection in Windsor Castle.
Unfortunately, there is also a personal tragedy of Zoffany behind this story. During his work on The Tribuna of the Uffizi, he lost his little son; the child fell down the stairs and three weeks later died of brain damage. It completely broke the painter emotionally. He couldn’t accept what happened and became constantly depressed. Of course, it had a bad influence on his work and, after returning to England, he wasn’t the same artist – he was no longer creative, productive, and full of life. Something had changed in him. Johan Zoffany suffered from this tragedy till his death in 1810 at the age of 77.
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