LIBRARY University of California IRVINE The Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture Edited by G. C. Williamson LUCA DELIA ROBBIA THE GREAT MASTERS IN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE. The following Volumes have been issued, price $s. net each. BERNARDINO LUINI. By GKORGB C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D., Editor of the Series. VELASQUEZ. By R. A. M. STEVENSON. ANDREA DEL SARTO. By H. GUINNESS. LUCA SIGNORELLI. By MAUD CRUTTWELL. RAPHAEL. By H. STRACHEY. CARLO CRIVELLI. By G. McNEiL RUSHFORTH, M.A., Classical Lecturer, Oriel College, Oxford. CORREGGIO. By SELWYN BRINTON, M. A., Author of "The Renais- sance in Italian Art." DONATELLO. By HOPE REA, Author of " Tuscan Artists." PERUGINO. By G. C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D. SODOMA. By the CONTESSA LORENZO PRIULI-BON. LUCA DELLA ROBBIA. By the MARCHESA BURLAMACCHI. In preparation. GIORGIONE. By HERBERT COOK, M.A. MEMLINC. By W. H. JAMES WEALE, late Keeper of the National Art Library. EL GRECO. By MANUEL B. Cossio, Litt.D., Ph.D., Director of the Musee Pedagogique, Madrid. MICHAEL ANGELO. By CHARLES HOLROYD, Keeper of the National Gallery of British Art. THE BROTHERS BELLINI. By S. ARTHUR STRONG, M.A. .Librarian to the House of Lords. DURER. By HANS W. SINGER, M.A., Ph.D., Assistant Director of the Royal Print Room, Dresden. PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA. By W. G. WATERS, M.A. WILKIE. By LORD RONALD SUTHKFLAND-GOWER, M.A., F.S.A., Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. TINTORETTO. By J. B. STOUGHTON HOLBORN, M.A. of Merton College, Oxford. MANTEGNA. By MAUD CRUTTWELL. PINTURICCHIO. By E. MARCH-PHILLIPPS. GIOTTO. By F. MASON PERKINS. FRANCIA. By GEORGE C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D., Editor of the Series. Others to folltnv. LONDON: GEORGE BELL & SONS LUCA DELIA ROBBIA BY THE MARCHESA BURLAMACCHI 6,3. 5> Luca della Robbia's blue eye medallions are the soul of Florence. MAURICE HEWLETT. Much fine praise has been spent upon the effort to analyse the aesthetics of della Robbia ware. Its inexhaustible charm is unquestionable. MAURICE HEWLETT. PREFACE A N ever increasing number of documents, due to the assiduous researches of learned historians and art critics, added to fresh personal investigations and detailed inquiries, have enabled me to offer here a more complete and accurate catalogue of Luca della Robbia's works than has yet been given to the English public. Permanent residence in Italy, together with a thorough knowledge of the localities in which Luca della Robbia's works are to be found, and of the language in which manuscripts and documents have been written, added to the courteous guidance of the Directors of National Museums and Libraries, and of several learned monks and professors, and, lastly, my friendship with some of the fortunate possessors of Luca della Robbia's bas-reliefs, have afforded me exceptional opportunity of research in my long and laborious work. In compiling this volume, I have carefully collated those of Vasari, Barbet de Jouy, Milanesi, Cavallucci and Molinier, Perkins, and the more recent ones of Bode and Burckhardt, Allan Marquand and Marcel Reymond. I have personally examined nearly all the works I have described. They are classed according to their dates, or their approximate dates when there is no distinct documentary evidence. A list of the unauthen- ticated and contested works of the Robbia family in vi PREFACE Italy and elsewhere is also appended, giving the opinions of numerous authorities. All the works attri- buted to the Robbias in the smaller towns of Italy are now for the first time scheduled and described. Bas-reliefs sold at public and private sales have been mentioned. In the Appendix will be found several interesting documents relating to Luca della Robbia, which have not hitherto been presented to the public. Neither time nor trouble has been spared to give the reader information on everything which is to be known on the subject L. B. FLORENCE, November 1900. CONTENTS PACK LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix BIBLIOGRAPHY ........ xi GENEALOGICAL TABLE ...... xv Chapter I. INTRODUCTORY i II. BIOGRAPHICAL 4 III. DATED AND AUTHENTICATED WORKS . 13 IV. WORKS IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, FLORENCE ..... 48 V. UNAUTHENTICATED WORKS IN FLORENCE 52 VI. DOUBTFUL WORKS IN THE NEIGHBOUR- HOOD OF FLORENCE . . . 62 VII. DOUBTFUL WORKS IN VARIOUS TOWNS IN ITALY, AND RECORD OF SALES . . 65 VIII. WORKS IN ENGLAND . . . . 77 IX. WORKS IN BERLIN AND PARIS . . 83 X. LUCA'S WORK AND POSITION IN ITALIAN ART 87 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS .... 96 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO LUCA . . . . 97 GENERAL CATALOGUE OF WORKS IN ITALY, ENGLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, AND AMERICA IN TABULAR FORM ......... 107 INDEX 123 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Coronation of the Virgin Church of the Ognissanti, Florence Frontispiece Portrait of Luca della Robbia by Vasari . Florence 8 The Panels of the Singing Gallery (10 blocks), 1431 . . . . Duomo, Florence, 10, 12, 14 Bas-relief of " Grammar," 1437 . Campanile, Florence 16 Liberation of S. Peter from Prison, 1438 Bargello, Florence 18 The Crucifixion of S. Peter, 1438 . Bargello, Florence 20 The Tabernacle, for the Hospital of Sta. Maria Nuova, 1442 . . . . . . Peretola 22 The Resurrection, 1443 . . . Duomo, Florence 24 The Ascension, 1446 . . . Duomo, Florence 24 The Bronze Door of the Sacristy, 1446 . . Florence 26 A Panel from the Bronze Door ... . Florence 26 An Angel bearing a Chandelier, 1448 Duomo, Florence 28 The Companion Angel, 1448 . Duomo, Florence 28 Medallion of "Temperance," 1448, San Miniato al Monte 30 The Madonna and Child, 1448 Innocenti Hospital, Florence 30 The Tabernacle, on the Altar of the Holy Cross, 1460-70 ...... Impruneta 32 The Crucifixion, 1460-70 .... Impruneta 34 S. Matthew, 1450 . Pazzi Chapel, S. Croce, Florence 36 S. Andrew . . Pazzi Chapel, S. Croce, Florence 36 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PACE The Madonna and Child with Angels, 1440-52 Via deW Agnolo, Florence 38 Tomb of the Bishop Federighi, 1455-57-59 Santa Trinita, Florence 40 The Madonna and Child, 1455-1463 Church of Or San Michele, Florence 42 Two Angels with a Tabernacle Church of Or San Michelc, Florence 48 The Virgin and Child with two Angels Bargello, Florence 48 The Madonna of the Quince . . Eargello, Florence 48 The Madonna of the Roses . . Bargello, Florence 50 The Virgin and Child . . . Bargello, Florence 50 A Bambino . . . Innocenti Hospital, Florence 54 Another Bambino . . Innocenti Hospital, Florence 54 The Madonna and Child . San Gaetano, Florence 56 The Annunciation . . Innocenti Hospital, Florence 56 The Virgin and Child with S. John Casa Burlamacchi, Florence 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY ITALIAN ANSALDI, ANSALDO. " Descrizione delle sculture della citta di Pescia." 1816. ANSELMI, ANSELMO. " Le Maioliche del della Robbia" (Archivio storico dell' arte). 1896. BALDINUCCI. "Notizie del Professor! da Cimabue in qua." 1846. BERTI, G. "Cenni storico artistici per servire di Guida ed illustrazione della insegna Basilica di S. Miniato al Monte." 1850. BETTINELLI, SAVERIO. " Risorgimento d'ltalia." 1786. BIGAZZI. "Iscrizione e memorie della citta di Firenze." 1887. BIADI. "Notizie sulle antiche fabbriche non terminate e sulle variazioni alle quale i piu ragguardevoli edifizi sono andati soggetti." 1824. BOCCHI, FRANCESCO. "Le bellezze della citta di Firenze." BODE. " Luca della Robbia ed i suoi precursori in Firenze " (Archivio storico dell' arte). 1889. BRUNI, FRANCESCO. "Storia dell' I. e R. Spedale degli Innocenti." 1819. CICOGNARA. " Storia della Scultura." 1813-18. CINELLI, GIOVANNI. " Bellezze di Firenze." 1677. CONTRUCCI, PROFESSOR. "Monumento Robbiano in Pistoja." 1835. CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. " Firenze artistica." 1874. xii BIBLIOGRAPHY CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. " Fiesole." 1874. CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. " Illustratore Fiorentino." 1880. CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. "I dintori di Firenze." 1881. CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. "II comune di S. Casciano." 1892. CAROCCI, CAVALIERE. " II comune del Galluzzo." 1892. CASOTTI. " Memorie istoriche della Miracolosa Immagine di S. Maria dell' Impruneta." 1774. DEL MIGLIORE. " Firenze illustrata." 1684. DEL Rosso. " Guida di Fiesole." 1846. FABRICZY. "Un alto rilievo di Luca Della Robbia." 1888. FANTOZZI, FEDERIGO. "Pianta geometrica della citta di Firenze." 1843. FANTOZZI, FEDERIGO. "Nuova guida di Firenze." 1857. FINESCHI. " Memorie istoriche." 1790. FONTANA, FRANCESCO. "Viaggio pittorico della Toscana." 1827. FOLLINI. " Firenze an tica e moderna." 1789. FRANCESCHINI. "L' oratorio di S. Michele in orto." 1892. GENOLINI, ANGELO. " Maioliche italiane." 1881. GOTTI. " Gallerie di Firenze." 1872. GUASTI. " La cupola di S. Maria del Fiore." LASTRI. " L'osservatore Fiorentino sugli edifizi della sua patria." MARCOTTI. "Guide Souvenir de Florence." 1891. MILANESI. "Commentario della vita di Luca della Robbia." 1878. MORENI. " Notizie istoriche dei dintori di Firenze." 1792. MORONI, GAETANO. " Dizionario d'erudizione." 1843. MUNTZ. " L'arte italiana nel quattrocento." 1894. RICHA. " Chiese Fiorentine." 1754-62. RIDOLFI, ENRICO. " Guida di Lucca." 1877. Rossi, UMBERTO. " II museo nazionale di Firenze " (Archivio storico dell' arte). 1893. SANTINI, VINCENZO. "Guida alle Alpi Apuane." 1874. BIBLIOGRAPHY xiii VASARI, GIORGIO. "Le Opere con annotazioni di G. Milanesi." 1878. VENTURI, ADOLFO. " Archivio storico dell' arte." 1888. FRENCH AGINCOURT, J. B. "Histoire de 1'art par les Monuments." 1823. BARBET DE JOUY. "Les della Robbia." 1855. BODE ET BURCKHARDT. " Le Cicerone Guide de 1'art antique et moderne en Italic." Derniere Edition. BORDE, H. DE LA. "La sculpture Italienne" (Revue des deux Mondes). 1865. CAVALLUCCI ET MOLINIER. "Les della Robbia, leur vie et leur oauvre." 1884. HOEFER. " Nouvelle Biographic generate. " 1852. JAQEMART. "Les merveilles de la Ce"ramique." 1868. MUNTZ. " Tour du Monde." A travers la Toscane. 1894. PERRENS, F. T. " La civilisation Florentine du XII. au XVI. Siecle." REYMOND, MARCEL. " Les della Robbia." 1897. Rio. " L'art Chretien." 1861. "Catalogue des objets d'art du Palais San Donato a Florence" (Author unknown). ENGLISH ALLEN, GRANT. " Historical Guide to Florence." BEVIR, J. L. " Guide to Siena and S. Gemignano." HEWLETT, M. " Earthwork out of Tuscany." HORNER, S. and J. "Walks in Florence." 1873. JAMESON, MRS. " Sacred and Legendary Art." JARVES, J. J. "Art Thoughts." xiv BIBLIOGRAPHY LEADER SCOTT. "Luca della Robbia and other Sculptors." 1883. LEADER SCOTT. " Vincigliata and Majano." 1891. MARQUAND, ALLAN. "A Search for della Robbia Monuments in Italy" (Scribner's Magazine). December 1893. MARQUAND, ALLAN. "Some Unpublished Monuments of Luca della Robbia " ( The American Journal of Archeology ', Vol. viii.). 1894. MARQUAND, ALLAN. "The Madonnas of Luca della Robbia" ( The American Journal of Arch&ology). 1 894. OLIPHANT, MRS. " The Makers of Florence." 1883. PATER, WALTER. "Renaissance. Studies in Art." 1873. PERKINS, CHARLES. " Tuscan Sculptors." 1864. PERKINS, CHARLES. "Historical Handbook of Italian Sculpture." 1864. ROBINSON, SIR CHARLES. " Italian Sculpture in the South Kensington Museum." 1862. RUSKIN. " Mornings in Florence." " The Encylopaedia Britannica." O H' PS O 2 Q, W E H - O w w H U < HH [T. O o < < S s a * w K < J NN [T] ^ Q E fe O O I I h o &H U oo H K a. o * O 1 1 "^ & < C/3 3 .1 ,g 6 y rj- o" . "^ j M s OT*S "* o o 3fc o 3 ft .1 & o ^ H ?<" 10 tl O 00 o~ 0" 3^ ro H to ^Dn IO + Ar Cj " g ^ a |jj ^ -2 2 S - o o g o" O < w^ S ^ 1! 1 1 ^2 gw < o 2 ^'o ^ ^-^ ? PM 4 H? o si 3 ^ u ^ o Y-r F-* I 1- OJ <5 in o ^ LUCA DELIA ROBBIA CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY T^ILL half-a-century ago, travellers and art students visiting Italy seem to have overlooked all but the greatest works of Luca della Robbia, passing by the minor works unobserved, and not even mentioning them in their notes. But his fame, after slumbering for ages, has now again revived to claim some of its former glory. Whenever bas-reliefs of glazed enamel terra-cotta were brought to public notice, they nearly all went under Luca della Robbia's name ; but if all the works assigned to him were really wrought by his hand, the fame of "having given impulse to the Renaissance," as Mr. Bode truly says, " would indeed be exaggerated or unjust. A great number of bas-reliefs that have passed under his name were not even executed by his nephew Andrea, or even by his great-nephews, but by inferior artists half-a-century, and some even a century, after his death." Recently we have entered upon a period when even works of Luca della Robbia of which there can be no doubt have been contested, too limited a number being assigned to him, especially if we consider his long and A 2 LUCA BELLA ROBBIA industrious career, during which, according to Vasari, he filled Tuscany and Italy with his terra-cottas. No doubt, on account of the fragility of the material in which they were wrought, many have been broken ; others have been dispersed, owing to the fact that, like a mosaic, they are composed of a number of pieces, frequently lost when taken down or removed. " Genius," as Marion Crawford justly says, " means, before all things, great and constant creative power ; it means wealth of resource and invention ; it means quantity as well as quality." It is not reasonable to suppose that an artist with such undoubted genius as Luca della Robbia would not have left more of himself than the productions assigned to him of late. The authenticity of the bas-reliefs, about which dis- agreement has arisen, remains an open question, and the pen fight over them will doubtless continue ; but on a great number of Luca della Robbia's works no discussion is possible, as documentary evidence proves that he was commissioned to execute them, and pay- ments were made under his name ; but no signature is ever to be found on his masterpieces. Luca della Robbia, being at the head of a firm, must have assumed the responsibility for the works that, during his lifetime, went under his name and came from his fabbrica. He had taken into partnership not only his nephew Andrea, but also the Duccio brothers, Ottaviano and Agostino. They all worked in close companionship with him, having the same studio, the same workmen, baking their productions in the same furnaces, and afterwards they had the same scholars ; and thus, necessarily, all their works bear the stamp INTRODUCTORY 3 and influence of the head of this family of artists. So not even with the aid of the documents are we always able, as Cavallucci and Molinier assert, to distinguish a Madonna modelled by Luca from a Madonna modelled by Andrea, as the latter was so imbued with the same graceful style. Even after 1471, when the uncle gave up active work on account of his infirmities, his influence is still visible ; and it is a difficult task at the present day to assign to each artist his own individual work. In deciding the authorship of many bas-reliefs of Luca della Robbia, art critics have allowed themselves to be led by intuition, and the judgment of the eye has been their only guide when documents have not been forthcoming. Even after gaining a thorough knowledge of the forms of Luca della Robbia's works, it is still difficult to decide whether the whole of a bas-relief was wrought by him, composed as the works are of different sections and pieces. We may, perhaps, trace Luca's hand in the figures, while the festoons and other accessories may betray the inferior talent of his scholars. CHAPTER II BIOGRAPHICAL ~P\OCUMENTS relating to the Florentine family of della Robbia enable us to state that Luca the sculptor was born in 1400, in the house of his fore- fathers in Via S. Egidio. In 1446, with his brother Marco and his nephew Andrea, he removed to a house in Via Guelfa, in which he resided until his death. This street was anciently called Via della Robbia. As in the case of a great many artists of the Renaissance, we have few documents concerning Luca della Robbia. He is sometimes mentioned in the account books of the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore, and we find an entry in his name on the registers of the Catasto Chiave (Appendix I.). It is probable that one of the principal causes of this absence of documents referring to the artists of the Renaissance is owing to the constant plundering and burning of houses, churches, and sacristies in the fifteenth century. Also in the time of the plague furniture and papers, where the contagion had penetrated, were given to the flames, and many family records have consequently been lost to us. Thus, with the exception of a few statements which have been proved inaccurate by authentic records, we must rely on his biographer, Giorgio Vasari, for most of the facts of Luca della Robbia's life. What appears certain is that " Luca was carefully 4 BIOGRAPHICAL 5 reared and educated until he could not only read and write, but also, according to the custom of most Florentines, had learnt to cast accounts, so far as he was likely to require them. Afterwards he was placed by his father to learn the art of the goldsmith." Most of the artists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries began with this craft, which was considered by them to be among the highest, and it is owing, no doubt, to this training that they became such excellent sculptors. It was this that gave them their extraordinary facility in composing and modelling both quickly and skilfully, as well as a mastery over detail and a capacity for finish which they considered to be unattainable by other means. Vasari informs us that " Luca having learnt to draw and model in wax, his confidence increased, and he set himself to attempt works in marble and bronze. In these he succeeded tolerably well, and this caused him to abandon altogether the goldsmith's trade, and give himself entirely to sculpture, insomuch that he did nothing but work with his chisel all day, and by night he practised himself in drawing. This he did with so much zeal, that when his feet were frozen with cold he kept them in a basket of shavings to warm them, so that he might not be compelled to discontinue his drawings." It is surprising that before the age of thirty no authenticated work made by Luca della Robbia has been assigned to him with documentary evidence, although he must surely have given proofs of his talent long before that time. It has been suggested that by searching among the nooks and corners of the Cathedral 6 LUCA DELLA ROBBIA of Florence, hidden treasures, wrought by his hand, may still be brought to light. A work of his youth would be to us a valuable guide, enabling us to ascertain under which master's influence he had been trained. We can judge for ourselves that in technical skill he often equals Ghiberti, whom several authorities in art declare to have been his master. On the other hand, in many of Luca della Robbia's first works we find an unconscious tendency to imitate Donatello, of whom he possessed the vigour and originality. Later on in his artistic career we find in him an independent and personal type. Luca dedicated himself most particularly to the exquisite details of the human features, giving them such varied expressions of love, joy, and sorrow, that few artists of his time surpassed him. He must have had a special predilection for children, and studied them with tender attention, to have succeeded as he did in making of his infants such " lovely living creatures." Nearly all his works bear the stamp of a profoundly pious feeling, and we might say that his inner spirituality is impressed on them. Although he was very religious, he was never exaggerated in the artistic manifestations of his devotion. No doubt, on account of his known piety, most of his commissions were for churches and religious congregations, and thus nearly all his subjects, except the decorations for a few palaces, are purely religious. Luca della Robbia excels wonderfully in the art of draping his figures. The longitudinal folds he gives to the mantles of his Virgins have the type of classic BIOGRAPHICAL 7 elegance. He seemed to be capable of doing everything well, and he wrought with equal facility in bronze, in marble, and afterwards in terra-cotta. Vasari says of him : " Luca, be it observed, though he passed from one occupation to another, from marble to bronze, from bronze to terra-cotta, was not induced to these changes by idle levity, or because he was, as too many are found to be, capricious, unstable, and discontented with his vocation, but because he was by nature disposed to the search for discoveries, and also his necessities compelled him to seek an occupation which should be in harmony with his tastes, while it was less fatiguing and more profitable." According to Vasari, " he drew skilfully and gracefully." We have reason to suppose that our artist was of a serious and quiet disposition, without jealousy, envy, and egoism. It is known that he sought to calm and pacify Michelozzo, when that artist was rightly enraged against the in- justice of the wardens of the Cathedral of Florence. Between Luca and Michelozzo sprang up a life-long friendship, cemented by mutual esteem and admiration for each other's talent. He and the other artists of his time seem to have appeared at the moment when there was plenty of work for all to do. Florence, enriched by its commerce, had erected numerous and splendid buildings, which were ready to be embellished by painting and sculpture. For half-a-century and more the artistic workers were able to find occupation, by filling up the vacant niches, placing reliefs on lunettes of doors, and adorn- ing endless churches and palaces. Every stone, every monument of that time bears the stamp of grandeur and 8 LUCA BELLA ROBBIA beauty. From the mansions of the high and mighty of the land, to the humblest shrine in the crowded streets, none remains without its ornamentation. There remains no tradition to tell us if any femi- nine influence entered Luca della Robbia's life. The types of his Madonnas are so different one from the other, that we have no reason to suppose that any of his models had a claim to his affections. He re- mained a bachelor all his life, and devoted himself to his relations, especially to his favourite nephew and pupil Andrea, to whom he taught his art, and confided the secret of his discovery of glazed enamel. Towards the end of his life we are told that he expressed some doubts as to whether in teaching his secret to his favourite nephew he had acted unjustly towards the other members of his family. His life seems to have been a life of frugality and labour, without passions and adventures, except those connected with his scientific discoveries and experiments. His steady application and quiet perseverance in overcoming difficulties led to his great success and undying fame. From 1470 to 1480 there is a great gap in the pro- duction of his works, and without doubt he passed the end of his long and active career in guiding the works of his nephews and great-nephews. In 1471 he was elected president of the Artists' Guild, but his great age and his infirmity compelled him to decline this honour, which shows, however, in what consideration he was held by the citizens of Florence. A document lately discovered records the refusal, stating the reason for it (Appendix II.). Vasari gives a description of the portrait of Luca From a drawing] [Palazzo Vecchio, Florence PORTRAIT OF LUCA DELLA ROBBIA, BY GIORGIO VASARI BIOGRAPHICAL 9 della Robbia looking at himself in a mirror, painted with great care by his own hand. The features are massive and grave, and the head enveloped in heavy folds of drapery. It was said that Andrea del Sarto painted Luca della Robbia's portrait in one of the frescoes in the Church of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence, but Baldinucci thinks it was Andrea della Robbia, and not Luca, whom Andrea del Sarto meant to represent under the garb of an old man dressed in red, leaning on a stick. It has also been said that the last circular bas-relief on the fagade of the Hospital of S. Paolo, facing the corner of Via dei Fossi, was intended to represent Luca. Follini writes that on the ceiling, on the side of the large windows in the Fabbrica degli Uffizi e Real Galleria, there is among the decorations the portrait of Luca della Robbia. Leader Scott, in describing a little statuette that he ascribes to Luca, in possession of Mr. Temple Leader, says : " The face is certainly the same type which we see in the portraits of the della Robbia family, painted by Andrea del Sarto, in the cloister of the Santissima Annun- ziata, and is precisely the same face which he himself sculptured over the door of the sacristy of the Cathedral." The portrait of Luca by Vasari that we illustrate is in the Palazzo Vecchio in the " sala di Cosimo il vecchio." Luca della Robbia died in 1481, on the 2Oth of February, and was buried in the Church of S. Pier Maggiore. His epitaph ran as follows : " Terra vivi per me cara e gradita Che all' acqua e a' ghiacci come il marmo induri, Per che quanto men cedi o ti maturi, Tanto piu la mia fama in terra ha vita " io LUCA BELLA ROBBIA which has been translated as follows : " O live for me, dear land, and may you vie With marble that can storm and frost defy : So time the less you cede the more mature My fame on earth the longer will endure." A few popular and pleasing legends have been transmitted to us about Luca della Robbia. It is said that, after having been restored to health by the pure mountain air and the tender care of the inhabitants of Gavinana, near S. Marcello, he left as a votive offering two of his works to adorn the village church. The mountaineers still show with pride the token of gratitude of this great and good artist, who, although he lived in a period of sordid passions, was an example of virtue and industry. Another legend runs that Luca placed the written secret of his discovery of glazed enamel in the hollow of the head of one of his cherubs. It is reported that many of these heads have been broken for the purpose of finding the secret. The head of the Infant Jesus of the splendid bas-relief of the della Robbia ware in the Church of S. Giovanni in Sugano, near San Casciano (Val di Peso), is known to have been broken, in the hope that it might contain the secret. A part of the head was found many years afterwards in a garden not far distant from the church. Posterity has assigned to Luca della Robbia the place he deserves among the great artists of the fifteenth century, and Florence has every right to be proud of this popular and fascinating sculptor, whose works are so characteristic of the lovely Tuscan cities. [Duomo Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY Brogi photo} [Duotno Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY Brogi photd\ [Duonto Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY BIOGRAPHICAL u Although my task is mainly to treat of Luca della Robbia and his works, it is necessary to indicate the principal characteristics of his nephew and pupil, Andrea, to enable us to give, as nearly as is possible, the due attributions to these two great artists. Though Andrea began his artistic career under Luca, and, we may say, was never entirely free from his in- fluence and guidance, there is between them a decided difference of feeling, which reveals itself clearly in their respective productions. Andrea was born thirty-seven years after Luca. After his uncle's death, and even before, when he worked on his own account, we find the stamp of a later period ; the Florentine public having decidedly changed its taste in art, commissioned from the Robbias various complicated scenes for the decoration of churches, instead of the simple composi- tions of a former age. Luca's love for the antique is not repeated in Andrea. The uncle was pious, the nephew profoundly so, and devoted to the Virgin Mary, which accounts for his Madonnas being even more numerous than those of Luca. Andrea is represented very scantily in Florence, for he mostly worked for the convents and churches away from the capital ; while Luca's works are nearly all confined to Tuscany, and especially to Florence. Those we find in distant provinces must have been transported there long after his death. We have reason to think that Andrea was a quicker modeller than his uncle, but not always such a careful one. Andrea being able to turn to profit his uncle's discovery of glazed enamel, set immediately to work in it, instead of having to spend years in long and patient 12 LUCA BELLA ROBBIA studies and experiments, which accounts for the greater number of his terra-cotta productions. Luca della Robbia hardly ever repeated the subjects of his bas-reliefs, while we constantly find in Andrea the same motives, many of them being taken from his uncle's works. Brogi photo] [Duomo Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY Brogi photo} [Duomo Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY Brogl photo} [Duoino Museum, Florence PORTION OF THE SINGING GALLERY CHAPTER III DATED AND AUTHENTICATED WORKS A X 7"E may divide the della Robbia sculpture into three classes first, those of which no repetitions are found, as they were expressly ordered from t\\Q fabbrica by congregations and families. On most of these we shall find the coats of arms or devices of those by whom they were commissioned. The second category, which is very numerous, comprises mostly reproductions of Luca's and Andrea's works of minor merit ; they are repetitions of the same subject, representing especially the Madonna and Infant Child. Many are to be found on the walls of streets and palaces, and on country road-sides. The third category comprises the coats of arms of families, municipalities, convents, and hospitals, and these are the most numerous. They are at the present day exactly imitated and copied by the Ginori- Richard fabbrica at Doccia, and the Cantagalli fabbrica out of Porta Romana in Florence. The first of Luca della Robbia's works of which we have an undisputed date (1431), are the monuments for the organ of S. Maria del Fiore in Florence, which are constructed on a very grand scale. "The wardens commissioned them from Luca, who, in addition to his reputation, had a further recommendation from Messer Vieri de' Medici, an influential and popular citizen, by whom Luca was much beloved. These ornaments were 13 14 LUCA BELLA ROBBIA to be placed over the door of the sacristy in the above- named cathedral." Vasari, to whom we owe these facts, adds : " In the prosecution of this work, Luca executed certain series for the casement, which repre- sent the choristers, who are singing, in different attitudes. To the execution of these, he gave such earnest atten- tion, and succeeded so well, that although the figures are sixteen braccia from the ground, the spectator can, nevertheless, distinguish the inflation of the throat in the singers, and the action of the leader, as he beats time with his hands, and the various modes of playing on different instruments, the choral songs, and the dances which are delineated by the artist." Luca, as his text for these "Cantoria," which are divided into ten magnificent panels, took the I5oth Psalm of the Bible, illustrating it on the frieze : Laudate Dominum in sanctis ejus : laudate eum in firmamento virtutis ejus. Laudate eum in virtutibus ejus : laudate eum secundum multi- tudinem magnitudinis ejus. These are engraved on the superior frieze, which represents young men singing. On the inferior frieze is inscribed the end of the psalm : Laudate eum in sono tuba : laudate eum in psalterio et cithara. Laudate eum in tympano et choro : laudate eum in chordis et organo. Laudate eum in cymbalis benesonantibus : laudate eum in cymbalis jubilationis : omnis spiritus laudet Dominum. The words in italics represent the eight subjects of the bas-reliefs of the " Cantoria." >