This relief in blue and white tin-glazed terracotta is made by Andrea della Robbia in Florence in 1487-88.
The relief appears to have been commissioned by Gabriele di Cambio de' Medici, whose marriage to Lucrezia di Alessandro Rondinelli took place in 1487-88. The style of the relief is related to that of Andrea del Verroccio.
The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th.
Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.
His nephew Andrea della Robbia, who inherited the workshop, tended to use more complex compositions and polychrome glazing rather than the simple blue-and-white schemes favoured by his uncle.
Trained as a marble sculptor in the studio of his uncle Luca, Andrea della Robbia also became an excellent modeller, unrivalled in his ability to capture the life of his subjects in glazed clay.
Physical description
The Virgin is represented in full-length seated and turned slightly to the left, presenting her right breast to the Child, who sits on a cushion on her right knee. The frame is composed of a border of leaves, fruit, wheat-ears and flowers, terminating above in two scrolls. The lower edge of the console is formed by two cornucopias filled with fruit, leaves, nuts and flowers, with, between them, a laurel wreath containing a shield with the arms of Medici impaling those of Rondinelli.
Place of Origin
Florence, Italy (made)
Date
1487-1488 (made)
Artist/maker
Andrea della Robbia, born 1435 - died 1525 (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Blue and white enamelled terracotta, with polychrome enamelled terracotta border and console
Dimensions
Height: 160 cm, Width: 85.1 cm, Weight: 60 kg
Object history note
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana collection, £200.
Historical context note
The relief appears to have been commissioned by Gabriele di Cambio de' Medici, whose marriage to Lucrezia di Alessandro Rondinelli took place in 1487-88. The style of the relief is related to that of Andrea del Verroccio.
Descriptive line
Relief, the Virgin and Child, blue and white enamelled terracotta, by Andrea della Robbia, Florence, 1487-1488.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 13
Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 50
Exhibition History
Precious: Objects and Changing Values (The Millennium Galleries, Sheffield 02/04/2001-24/06/2001)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco 01/01/1999-30/09/2000)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 18/10/1998-10/01/1999)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Royal Ontario Museum 20/06/1998-13/09/1998)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 25/02/1998-17/05/1998)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (The Baltimore Museum of Modern Art 12/10/1997-18/01/1998)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum 14/10/1999-16/01/2000)
Materials
Terracotta
Techniques
Enamelling
Subjects depicted
Mary (Virgin Mary); Fruit; Leaf; Escutcheons (coats of arms); The Christ Child
Categories
Ceramics; Sculpture; Christianity
Collection code
SCP
