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Plate

Plate

  • Place of origin:

    Cafaggiolo (made)

  • Date:

    1510 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Jacopo Maestro (painted by)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours

  • Museum number:

    1717-1855

  • Gallery location:

    Ceramics, Room 145, case 48

During the Renaissance a distinction was drawn between fine art and the decorative arts. Maiolica painters were regarded as artisans who copied or freely followed printed sources or designs provided by major artists, but some regarded themselves as artists in their own right and signed their work. This dish shows a maiolica painter at work, magnificently dressed and watched by wealthy patrons. It was made at Cafaggiolo, a small potters' workshop set up in the grounds of a Medici villa near Florence to satisfy the needs of its aristocratic owners. It was probably painted by Maestro Jacopo, one of the most skilled maiolica painters of his time, here clearly making a statement about his aspirations as a fine artist and about his noble patronage.
It was once mistakenly thought that the artist shown was Raphael (1483-1520), painting a maiolica dish for his important patrons.

Physical description

Tin-glazed earthenware dish (maiolica) painted in colours with an artist decorating a plate, marked 'SP' in monogram crossed by a paraph.

Place of Origin

Cafaggiolo (made)

Date

1510 (made)

Artist/maker

Jacopo Maestro (painted by)

Materials and Techniques

Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours

Dimensions

Diameter: 23.9 cm

Historical context note

During the Renaissance a distinction was drawn between fine art and the decorative arts. Maiolica painters were regarded as artisans who copied or freely followed printed sources or designs provided by major artists, but some regarded themselves as artists in their own right and signed their work. This dish shows a maiolica painter at work, magnificently dressed and watched by wealthy patrons. It was made at Cafaggiolo, a small potters' workshop set up in the grounds of a Medici villa near Florence to satisfy the needs of its aristocratic owners. It was probably painted by Maestro Jacopo, one of the most skilled maiolica painters of his time, here clearly making a statement about his aspirations as a fine artist and about his noble patronage.

Descriptive line

Tin-glazed earthenware dish (maiolica) painted in colours with an artist decorating a plate, Cafaggiolo, about 1510.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Hildyard, Robin. European Ceramics. London : V&A Publications, 1999. 144 p., ill. ISBN 185177260X
Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young eds. Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum London: V&A Publishing, 2008. p.64
Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.

Materials

Earthenware; Tin glaze

Techniques

Glazing (coating)

Categories

Ceramics

Collection

Ceramics Collection

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