Enterprise at the service of art and the community. These words sum up the donation to the Uffizi Gallery by El.En., leader in the manufacturing and distribution of lasers for medical and cosmetic purposes and for the restoration of works of art.
The international company, with headquarters in Calenzano (Florence – Italy), donated two highly sophisticated lasers to the museum for the conservative restoration of its works of art, in particular the statues in the Boboli Gardens and the paintings in the gallery. The laser that will be used at the Uffizi – the “Light Brush” produced by El.En./DEKA, with Erbium technology – will give paintings and frescoes a new lease of life. The donation to the Uffizi Gallery is certainly not the first such initiative by El.En., a group that is profoundly linked to Italy and Florence. In the past it has donated laser devices to the Vatican Museums (Rome) and made donations overseas to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It has also lent its devices around the world to restore priceless masterpieces.
Paolo Salvadeo, General Manager of El.En., stated: “To revive beauty wherever it might be in order to bestow it upon future generations. This is why we are here. We are particularly honoured that Uffizi director Mr Schmidt has accepted our donation. This confirms once again his extraordinary sensitivity for art, a universal heritage we have a duty to preserve, by passing on to posterity the message of beauty and love left by the great masters of the past”.
The Director of the Uffizi Gallery, Eike Schmidt adds “The protection of artistic heritage has always been one of our chief concerns: we are therefore happy to accept this donation, because the lasers produced by El.En. provide us with new instruments for the conservation of works of art, that will allow us to intervene without undermining or compromising their integrity, and instead fully reveal their beauty. Moreover, we are proud of this partnership because it is based on a technology that is made in Italy, or rather in Florence, which is exported and known throughout the world”.
