Madonna and Child with Scroll LUCA DELLA ROBBIA c. 1455

Luca della Robbia was one of the greatest sculptors in Early Renaissance Florence, in the same league as Donatello. His reputation was ensured with the marble cantoria, or "singing gallery," with its intensely lyrical reliefs of child musicians, which he began in 1431 for the Cathedral of Florence. Della Robbia's works are characterized by a combination of gravity and fresh innocence that continues to exert great appeal after five centuries. He also developed the ceramic technique in sculpture that is associated with his name. His terra-cotta compositions were coated with pigments that vitrified when the pieces were refired, providing diversity of color and a durable surface that could withstand the outside elements.

The generous forms of the Madonna and Child with a Scroll reveal Luca della Robbia in the period of his most monumental work, which was executed about 1455. The white glazed surface is relieved by the blue-black used for the eyebrows, the inscription "Ego sum lux mundi" ["I am the light of the world"] on the scroll, and the characteristic azure used for the molding.

Long before his death, Luca had entrusted the secret of his technique and the leadership of his workshop to his nephew, Andrea who used a particularly harmonious range of colored glazes.





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