Della Robbia: Sculpting with Color in Renaissance Florence

This beautiful book accompanies the exhibition of the same name at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts from August to December 2016 and then at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. from February to June 2017. It does not have the usual exhibition catalogue format of scholarly essays followed by a section of commented plates of exhibited objects. Rather, in a series of essays, the primary author of the catalogue, Marietta Cambareri, the MFA’s Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, discusses general topics such as Luca della Robbia’s (1400-1482) invention of a process of color-glazing terra cotta around 1440, when he was already an established and sought-after Florentine sculptor in marble; his subsequent devotion to refining and expanding his technique and the establishment with his nephew of what became a highly successful studio business; the influence of classical models on the studio productions; the manufacture of domestic sculpture along with their chief activity, which was the creation of religious items for clerical commissions; and “Della Robbias in the New World,” a final chapter dealing with the rediscovery of this art in the nineteenth century and the increasing interest of connoisseurs and collectors outside Italy, and especially in the U.S. (One fascinating aspect of that discussion is the way the objects gained more cachet and aesthetic seriousness as they were increasingly recognized by scholars and curators as being legitimate pieces of sculpture and not merely “ceramics”; the degree to which American collectors took special interest in this work is indicated by the fact that, of the twenty-three institutional lenders to the exhibition, only four are not American, those four being Italian.) Although this is the first American exhibition dedicated to the glazed terra cotta sculpture of the Della Robbia, Dr. Cambareri’s book is more than an introduction; it amounts, rather, to a comprehensive survey of the Della Robbia family and the activities of their workshop over the span of three (long-lived) generations and about 100 years (1440’s to 1550’s) when their new and proprietary method of firing the glazed terra cotta came into great demand and became highly influential before eventually, inevitably, losing favor to other artistic mediums. Some other workshops which were inspired and influenced by the Della Robbia, such as those of the Buglioni family and Giovanni Francesco Rustici are also mentioned and illustrated when appropriate. There are no numbered plates, but the 108 illustrations in the curatorial list (most of which are reproduced full-page and with superb clarity and color) are arranged in the order in which they are discussed in Dr. Cambareri’s text, so that one can read easily from page to page without flipping back and forth between text and illustrations. There are also about eighteen full-bled enlargements, which are wonderful for bringing the surfaces (“warts and all”) into sharp focus. The text itself is clear and conversational, completely free of scholarly jargon and very easily approachable by the non-specialist. Some catalogues can be a bit stressful to read through, but this one is a relaxing and engaging experience.One feature which will be very welcome to those who know little about terra cotta, firing, glazing or other procedures of ceramics, is the technical essay by Abigail Hykin, an Objects Conservator at the MFA, who explains clearly and in detail the various materials and methods involved in the production of these sculptures. According to the editor, this essay is the first in English to present a synthetic overview of the materials and manufacturing practices used in the studio, and it benefits from a good deal of recently discovered information and international collaboration. Many readers tend to skip over the (increasingly common and now virtually de rigueur) conservatorial essays in catalogues because of the technical demands they make, but this is an excellent example of why even the scientifically challenged should pay attention: chemical and physical analysis of the clay, glazes, etc. is highly pertinent to the dating of works (especially in the case of a hundred-year bottega), thus to attribution, and thus to constructing a picture of the aesthetic history of the tradition, the place and value of an individual contribution, and finally to a deeper understanding of the work itself. Almost everyone who has seen some Italian Renaissance art has seen some Della Robbias, most probably by Luca or his nephew and successor Andrea, and will recognize the familiar scintillating-white-on-startling-blue reliefs, but it may come as a surprise to encounter the much wider range of subjects, styles, colors, etc. presented by the exhibition. To see so much of this art together is to understand why it was so powerfully influential and attractive at its time (and why we still have designers describing their styles and products as “à la Della Robbia”): despite the brilliant innovation of the new glazing technique and the workshop’s very adroit marketing strategies, its products would never have been so successful had it not been for the fact that Luca and Andrea (not to speak of Andrea’s sons Giovanni, Luca, Marco, and Girolamo, who carried on the tradition into the third generation) were both brilliant sculptors. It must be one of the most intriguing (and fateful) twists of Western art history that Luca, who had already worked for several years on the extremely prestigious and valuable commission for the Cantoria (the organ loft) in the Florence cathedral, with its elegant carving style and phenomenally naturalistic joyously dancing children—certainly one of the wonders of Renaissance marble sculpture—turned his attention in mid-career to glazing terra cotta. Had he not done so, he may well have become a marble artist worthy of mention in the same breath as Michelangelo. But it is certain that some of the faces and figures he and Andrea created in terra cotta, some of the Madonnas and secular portraits represented in this exhibit, for example, are among the most stunningly beautiful creations of the fifteenth century in any medium. The modeling of the Virgin’s facial features in Andrea’s “Madonna and Child” (“Madonna of the Architects,” 1475) or in Luca’s “Madonna and Child with Lilies” (c. 1460-70) is, to me at least, unsurpassed by anyone at any time. This is not “the” Della Robbia book for art historians, but it is probably all the average aficionado of Renaissance art will ever need in terms of general information, and it is a wonderful collection of gorgeous art that ought to be far better known. If you can’t see the exhibit either in Boston or Washington, be assured that the catalogue is a good second best and that you can purchase it with confidence. Don’t miss it.

I had visited the museum with the Della Robbia’s in Florence and wanted a book with good reproductions in addition to my photographs. This book is perfect - beautiful photographs.

If you can't make the exhibit, but are interested in, or love Della Robbia, this is a fabulous book. There are details about production, development of the style, glazes, uses in architecture--it's a really great well researched book. I also learned through a podcast about the exhibit that the curators are also constantly learning. They put the pieces for the cover photo together in a way that made sense to them, then took the photo. Sometime later they looked on the back of the pieces, only to discover that they had ordered the border incorrectly--too late to make the change in the print version of the book. It's a lovely book and well worth the price!

Beautiful and well written book about one of the lesser known gems of the Florentine Renaissance. Although Della Robbias all all over Florence and other Tuscan and Umbrian churches and museums, most people have really never "seen" them. This book covers the 2016 exhibit at the MFA in Boston, and traveliing to other museums. One of the amazing things about these gorgeous Dell Robbias, is that they look like they are brand new although they are about 500 years old. The quality of the photo reproductions is outstanding.

Beautiful, informative guide to a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit. One caution: you have to be alert to the fact that many large, handsome illustrations show items not in the exhibition at all -- neither in Boston nor in DC. Once understood, however, this is a huge plus.

I grew up seeing Della Robbia in the context of Italy. The MFA (Boston) show this book is more or less a catalogue for was masterfully curated and wonderfully presented, as is this book. Surely Robbia is the most humane artist the Western world has produced. The marble choir stall in the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo in Florence: the Cantorie by Luca della Robbia. It illustrates Psalm 150 illustrates this humane view of life. As a father and grandfather it sums up as it were al my feelings for art and childhood. Real children were the models for the youths who dance and sing their way around this exquisite frieze. The commission may have been religious but the art itself became the “message.” The older children wear contemporary costumes and are playing fifteenth-century citharas and other instruments. Della Robbia made careful note of the Greco-Roman works he was inspired by and then made his own drawings from life. As a result, the choir stall is the ultimate Renaissance expression of lovingly building on the epicurean past while also pushing the boundaries of art into the future. The subject is not religious, it is humanistic, in other words the art celebrates the actual beauty of childhood itself and the actually beauty of the craft that captures the beauty of childhood. The love Della Robbia has for the mystery of childhood, for the tenderness of a child’s vulnerability, and for the sheer joy of that stage of life—when all activities are undertaken with earnest sincerity—is stunningly true to life in the frieze. The same spirit is found in so many of his terracotta pieces so beautifully prortrayed in Marietta Cambareri's wonderful book.

I wish I'd had this book during my degree course. It has been very well researched.

La familia Della Robbia brilló dentro del arte florentino del renacimiento gracias a la belleza de sus esculturas en terracota esmaltada (o vidriada), generalmente de temática religiosa, con la que adornaron numerosas iglesias y edificios importantes de su época. Este libro, con texto exclusivamente en inglés, es el catálogo de la exposición realizada en 2016 en el Museum of Fine Arts de Boston sobre la obra de estos artistas. Con edición muy cuidada (tapa dura con sobrecubierta, excelente papel, buena calidad de impresión, formato cuadrado, con un tamaño aproximado de 26 x 26 cm) , incluye un estudio de la experta Marietta Cambareri sobre los Della Robbia, centrado, más que en su biografía, principalmente en la técnica usada en sus obras, materiales, una descripción de las circunstancias y características de las piezas más importantes de la exposición, o la acogida de su trabajo (como fue olvidado con el tiempo hasta revalorizarse de nuevo a partir del siglo XIX) con un apartado especial dedicado a la difusión tardía del mismo en los USA. El texto va acompañado de numerosas fotografías de las obras expuestas, a todo color, y en su inmensa mayoría a toda página. Aproximadamente la mitad de las páginas del libro son fotos, realmente soberbias. Es por tanto un libro muy recomendable para los admiradores de estos grandes artistas, pese a su elevado precio (que puede reducirse si usas uno de los vendedores alternativos de amazon, considerablemente más baratos.)

In this book you have beautiful color photos. Fine paper and well documented text. If you like high quality art, try it.

impeccable

Un très beau livre sur un sujet rarement traité.