Della Robbia Restoration Unveiled at Santa Croce

A Virgin and Child with Saints by Giovanni della Robbia is on display again at the Pulci Berardi Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce. Initially commissioned by the Dominican convent of Santa Lucia di Camporeggi in the 1520s, the work acquired its new home in Santa Croce in 1808. The glazed terra cotta altarpiece, along with thousands of other significant artistic and literary works, had been displaced after suffering pollution and damage during the great 1966 Flood of Florence.

Due to the generous patronage of the Friends of Florence Foundation, the ceramic was the center of a restoration project under the guidance of Mattia Mercante and Filippo Tattini, the Opera di Santa Croce, the Superintendence Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Florence metropolitan area, and the provinces of Prato and Pistoia.

The work depicts an enthroned Madonna and Child surrounded by St. John the Apostle and Mary Magdalene and guarded by angels. A poisonous dragon is perched on John’s  gold chalice though the saint appears to be calm and unperturbed, referencing a story in the Golden Legend. Mary Magdalene is grasping a jar of ointment to her chest that she took with her to Christ’s tomb on Easter morning. The Virgin Mary is in a traditional regal blue robe and the angels hold a crown over her head to symbolize her spiritual royalty. The Christ is naked, symbolizing purity and innocence. There is the presence of the dove, representing the Holy Spirit. Near the base, one can also see the images of Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Domenico, and Saint Lucia. The figures appear very lifelike due to the treatment of the drapery on the forms, and the use of cold painting to render the complexions of the skin in a softer, more natural way.

Is sculpture better than painting? For Michelangelo the answer was a resounding yes, while Leonardo da Vinci would have retorted with an unambiguous no. But for the Della Robbia family there was no debate, as evinced in the altarpiece. Painting and sculpture are combined into one sublime work of art using the medium of glazed terra cotta, thus making the family’s contributions to art both culturally and scientifically meaningful.

Earlier this month the Bargello Museum in collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum unveiled the Resurrection of Christ, another altarpiece by della Robbia that has recently been restored to its original beauty. Those intrigued by the legacy of the della Robbia family can make a day of visiting both museums, which are in walking distance of one another, to have a more complete picture of Giovanni’s contributions to his family’s artistic dynasty.