Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525) Italy, Florence, circa 1515

Carlo de Carlo Collection, Florence
thence by descent
their sale, Semenzato, Florence, 18-19 October 2000, lot 117

Surface abrasions, minor chips and losses. Some pitting from firing. Surface restorations throughout, including: shoulder, upper half of fingers, some restoration through head and neck area, all of which is expertly done and virtually invisible to the naked eye. Otherwise some small restoration to the locks of hair, underside of nose and lower edges of sleeves.
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The authorship of the present relief of an angel was confirmed by Giancarlo Gentilini in a written analysis provided in March 2013. The attribution is sustained, in part, by the quality of the sensitive modeling, the uniform application of the enamel-like glaze, the width of the drapery folds and the addition of a small amount of manganese in the angel’s pupils, all of which are typical of Andrea della Robbia’s hand.

As the nephew and heir to the great Luca della Robbia, Andrea refined the process of glazing terracotta sculpture with a technique that provided the ease of modeling clay, the whiteness of marble and the luster of glazed ceramics. The style of his works is clearly indebted to his uncle but Andrea's approach to the issues of form and expression correspond with the politics and culture of his generation. In response to the ever-growing demand for glazed terracotta, Andrea was able to develop new, powerful, and yet sober images, consistent with Franciscan and Savonarolan teachings. Gentilini notes that as of 1504, Pomponio Gaurico (op.cit.) “qualified him as one of the most illustrious sculptors of his time and celebrated his style both for its sensitive naturalism and its expressive pathos”.

This relief is essentially a silhouette which is characteristic of della Robbia’s technique of assembling smaller elements, much like a puzzle, in order to produce monumental works. As Gentilini indicates, it is likely that this figure was originally part of a larger ensemble - probably with the angel as a full figure, either kneeling or flying and possibly against a blue background. The solemn expression on the angel’s face may suggest a provenance as part of a Crucifixion relief, such as in the Alessandri Crucifixion (1480-1481) in the Cappella delle Stimate of the Chiesa Maggiore in La Verna (fig. 1) in which Christ is surrounded by eight flying angels (Gentilini 1998, op.cit., p.175). Other examples include the altarpiece of the Trinity with Saints Bernard and Donatus (1485-1486) in the Duomo in Arezzo where twelve angels at prayer are shown aside the Crucifixion (Gentilini 1998, op.cit., p.176).

Strong parallels can also be seen with a relief of an angel (1510) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; this work shows many similarities in scale, iconography, style and format (Pope-Hennessy vol. III , op.cit.,p. 155, fig. 226, cat. 89-1891). Furthermore, Gentilini suggests a provenance for the present angel of the same (now dismantled) ensemble to which another half-length figure of an angel (in the collection of the Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, Gloucester) may also belong.

Affinities with other works that are unanimously attributed to Andrea further corroborate this attribution, including a half-length figure of an angel from a large composition in the Chiesa di Sant’Angelo in Valdo (1510-1515). Features of this angel are displayed in four flying angels in the Musée du Louvre that were previously part of a Resurrection altar executed in 1517-1518 for the Cappella della Compagnia di San Frediano, Florence (Bresc-Bautier, op. cit., pp. 112-113, cat. Campana 61)

This angel incorporates features found in the best works produced by Andrea in his mature years.  Gentilini proposed a date of 1515, at about the same time as the altarpiece in Santa Maria delle Grazie in Montepulciano (1514-1517) was executed (Marquand vol. I, op. cit., p. 70).

RELATED LITERATURE
G. Bresc-Bautier et. al., Les sculptures européennes du muse du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris 2006
J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1964, p. 229, n. 223
A. Marquand, 1922, Andrea della Robbia and his Atelier, Princeton, vols. I and II, 1922, p. 209, n. 362
P. Gaurico, De Sculptura, Florence, 1504

This lot is sold with a thermoluminescence analysis report dated 29 January 2014 from Arcadia Tecnologie Per i Beni Culturali stating that the sample evaluated is consistent with the presumed age of the relief, 16th century.

 

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