St Francis
Statue
ca. 1500-1525 (made)
ca. 1500-1525 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The saint wears the Franciscan habit with three knots on the cord of his belt representing the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He holds a book and cross (now broken), and displays the stigmata (the five marks corresponding to Christ's wounds) on his hands, feet and side. The figure was made in two parts in order to fit into the kiln for firing and subsequently joined; a gap can still be seen by the sleeves. Traces of pigment survive on the robes. The figure relates to representations of the saint in glazed altarpieces by Andrea della Robbia, such as those in the Chiesa Maggiore at La Verna and two in Santa Croce, Florence (Medici Chapel and Castellani Chapel). Another version was formerly in the Schiff-Giorgio Collection in Rome.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | St Francis (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Moulded terracotta |
| Brief description | Statue, terracotta, St. Francis, by the workshop of the Della Robbia, Italy (Florence), ca. 1500-1525 |
| Physical description | A terracotta statue of St Francis wearing a habit with three knots on the cord of his belt. The bare-footed saint clasps a book in his right hand and bears a cross on his right shoulder. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased in London for £50, from Mr. Geoffrey Houghton-Brown. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The saint wears the Franciscan habit with three knots on the cord of his belt representing the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He holds a book and cross (now broken), and displays the stigmata (the five marks corresponding to Christ's wounds) on his hands, feet and side. The figure was made in two parts in order to fit into the kiln for firing and subsequently joined; a gap can still be seen by the sleeves. Traces of pigment survive on the robes. The figure relates to representations of the saint in glazed altarpieces by Andrea della Robbia, such as those in the Chiesa Maggiore at La Verna and two in Santa Croce, Florence (Medici Chapel and Castellani Chapel). Another version was formerly in the Schiff-Giorgio Collection in Rome. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 224, 5, no. 216 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.77-1951 |
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| Record created | March 13, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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