Della Robbia masterpieces in Tuscany

by May 1, 2022Blog, Featured0 comments

Who would have thought that by walking through Santa Fiora and entering the Pieve you would have been able to admire some masterpieces of Italian Renaissance art? The polychrome terracottas by Luca della Robbia. It is one of the most significant collections of Della Robbia works, and, together with those of Radicofani, the only example of Florentine art in the Sienese area. They are monumental glazed terracotta altarpieces, of rare beauty for the sobriety of the images, colours and harmony of shapes. The works in the Pieve are: the Baptism of Jesus, the Madonna della Cintola, the Last Supper and the Resurrection (the pulpit), a triptych depicting the coronation of the Virgin and Saints Francis and Jerome. A crucifix and a tabernacle of holy oils complete the cycle of works.
Luca della Robbia (Florence 1400- 1482) was trained on the lessons of Ghiberti and Nanni di Banco, but also on the experience of Donatello and was a sculptor famous for the invention of “glazed” painted terracotta. Sources and documents of the time do not provide indications of the methods, therefore this invention has long been shrouded in an aura of mystery. In reality, the use of applying tin glaze on majolica was popular for the Arabs already in the fourteenth century. The artist perfected the technique, and he experimented with all the possibilities.

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