Oct
8
The life of Luca della Robbia
October 8th, 2007 posted by
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Florentine sculptor, 1400 - 1482
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“By the wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore, he was called to Florence, where for the campanile of that church he made five small scenes in marble, which are on the side facing the church.” II-24
Orpheus |
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“Then the wardens…commissioned from him the marble ornament for the enormous organ which the Office of Works was then having made to go over the sacristy door of that church.” II-24
Cantoria |
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“Although it stands thirty-two feet above the ground, one can discern the swelling of the singers’ throats, the leader of the music beating his hands on the shoulders of the smaller ones, and diverse kinds of sounds, songs, dances, and other pleasing actions which offer the delight of music.” II-24
Cantoria (detail) |
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Cantoria (detail) |
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Cantoria (detail) |
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“After the work described above was finished, he was commissioned to make the same sacristy’s bronze doors, and he divided the ten squares and for the scenes on each square he made first, Our Lady clasping her Son, and next Jesus Christ coming forth from the tomb. Underneath these [are] the Evangelists and below these are the four Doctors of the Church.” II-26 St Gregory |
| “But then Luca, after finishing these works, made a reckoning of how much he had earned, and how much time he had spent on them, and then realised that he had gained hardly anything despite his great efforts. So he resolved to abandon marble and bronze, [and], having considered that clay could be worked easily and that all that was wanting was a way by which the works made in clay could be preserved, he let his imagination loose so successfully that he found a way to protect it against the ravages of time. And for this method of working…all ages to come will be under an obligation to him.” |
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“He wanted his first works to be in the arch over the bronze door he had made for the sacristy, and so he made there a Resurrection of Christ…” II-27
Resurrection |
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“Much impressed by this, the wardens then wanted the arch over the door to the other sacristy to be filled by Luca in the same manner, and so he made for it a very beautiful representation of Jesus Christ ascending into Heaven.”
Ascension |
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“The Magnificent Piero de’ Medici, who was the first to commission Luca to make coloured works in clay, had him complete the entire round vaulting of a study built in the palace…” II-29
August (from the Twelve Labours of the Months) |
