Lucca della Robbia

Luca di Simone di Marco della Robbia (1399/1400–1482), was born in Florence and likely apprenticed to a goldsmith as a young man. In his 30s the artist executed several prominent commissions in marble, including the multi-panel organ loft (or Cantoria) for the cathedral in Florence. No less an authority than Leon Battista Alberti in 1436 named della Robbia one of the five most illustrious Florentine artists, ranked with the architect Brunelleschi, the painter Masaccio and the sculptors Donatello and Ghiberti – each of whom was more prominent than was della Robbia, and three of whom were his senior. Around 1440 the sculptor began producing the glazed terracotta sculptures for which he is best known. His artistic and commercial success in the medium led Luca in 1446 to establish a workshop on Florence’s Via Guelpha (then on the edge of the city, to mitigate the risk of fire spreading from the workshop’s kilns). His nephew Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), great-nephew Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1529) and several other family members continued to operate the workshop until around 1530, when secrets of the glazing formula and other essential processes vanished as the family died out. Contemporaries regarded the workshop’s sculptures as highly innovative. One writer described them as “figures of glass, or rather glazed earth.” Over the last century art historians have generally lost interest in della Robbia sculptures. The superb current U.S. exhibition and its associated catalogue suggest that a positive reassessment of the greatest masterpieces of Luca, Andrea and their workshop is long overdue.