MICHELE DI GIOVANNI DA FIESOLE AND THE ORIGINS OF THE FLORENTINE PLAQUETTE by Michael Riddick Fig. 01: Virgin and Child within an Arch here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1445-54, , (Wallace Collection, UK)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 2 Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole and the origins of the Florentine plaquette

A large rectangular relief of the Virgin and Child Italian Renaissance. As suggested by their subject within an Arch (Fig. 01) and a smaller arched relief and scale, both reliefs were intended for private of the Virgin and Child within a Niche (Fig. 02) devotional use. The larger relief could stand-alone are recognized as two of the earliest sculptural or may have served as the central panel for a house productions of what is today considered the genre altar.1 In one instance, it was appropriated as a of plaquettes, being the reproductive casting of tabernacle door.2 The smaller relief is unanimously small reliefs in metal with an origin in the early recognized as intended for use on paxes, to be set into a frame and used during the liturgy.

Both reliefs show a distinct awareness of ’s inventions. Douglas Lewis notes their rilievo schiacciato, a sophisticated technique of low-relief invented and popularized by Donatello.3 The larger relief reflects Donatello’s anatomical typology for the child Christ4 while the disappearance of the child’s arm behind the Virgin recalls an early relief portraying the Virgin and Child Christ within a Mantle attributed to a young Donatello or sometimes credited to Lorenzo Ghiberti.5 The architectural motif of the Virgin and Child within an Arch is frequently noted for its reflection of Donatello’s use of antique architecture to add perspectival depth to the scene, as noted and compared against his bronze relief of the Feast of Herod for the Baptistery Font Fig. 02: Virgin and Child within a Niche here attributed to in the Cathedral of Siena.6 While some scholars Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, have attributed the relief directly to Donatello7 a Italy (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 3 majority of scholars have opted to associate it with the Madonna della Gherardesca and Torrigiani a follower of the master8 and possibly after a lost Madonna at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.14 model by Donatello from the 1420s-30s.9 The idea However, a majority of scholars attribute the that the relief could be an early work by Bertoldo relief to an anonymous sculptor in Donatello’s di Giovanni, Donatello’s late collaborator, was immediate circle,15 in particular, Bertrand Jestaz posited by Wilhelm von Bode10 and considered was skeptical Donatello would occupy himself also by Francesco Negri Arnoldi,11 although the with the serial facture of such a small work idea gained little traction.12 more aligned with a follower inspired by the Pazzi Madonna.16 Giancarlo Gentilini tentatively The Virgin and Child within a Niche has also been suggested Andrea Guardi or a young Filerate as attributed to Donatello, drawing on its likeness possible inventors of the relief 17 and John Pope- with Donatello’s marble Pazzi Madonna (Fig. Hennessy tentatively suggested Donatello’s 03) or his bronze tomb slab for Bishop Pecci.13 collaborator, Michelozzo, as a possible author18 The feature of the shell niche on this relief and while Lewis endorsed the later attribution on Pecci’s tomb also correspond with Donatello’s stylistic grounds.19 Current scholarship has opted other commissions throughout the 1420s and to retain an attribution to Donatello’s circle or around 1430, like his tabernacle for the Saint workshop20 although Jeremy Warren cautiously Louis of Toulouse formerly in Or San Michele or considered Michelozzo a possibility.21

The relief may have been originally conceived in its small scale, qualifying it as what Lewis described to be “perhaps the first true plaquette,”22 while other scholars have considered it a reduced- scale copy of a larger lost prototype by Donatello. Warren has recently noted an enlarged painted and gilt stucco version of the composition, formerly known by an art market example, which could instead suggest the plaquette, and presumably other stucco casts, preserve the essence of a lost marble original by Donatello.23 Nonetheless, the inventive production of a small relief in metal would have initiated new serial applications of relief sculpture in a more durable, prestigious and antique-inspired medium, serving as an alternative to the serially produced stucco, Fig. 03: Pazzi Madonna by Donatello, marble, ca. 1420, terracotta and cartapesta workshop reproductions Florence, Italy (Bode-Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) of the period. Notably, the larger Virgin and Child

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 4 within an Arch is known by a minority of bronze this period remains questionable even though casts24 whereas alternative productions in stucco25 some scholars have ascribed them to this time- and terracotta26 are slightly more common. frame. Warren, for example, takes care to note that the model for the Virgin and Child within an Arch Although the inspirational models for the reliefs could date around 1430 while the bronze casts of the Virgin and Child within an Arch and Virgin are more likely dated to the mid-15th century and and Child within a Niche have their genesis with probably produced in a workshop in Donatello’s Donatello and his activity during the 1420s-30s, ambit.27 the idea that the metal reliefs themselves are from

Fig. 04: Reliquary of the Holy Girdle of the Virgin by Maso di Bartolomeo, bronze, ivory, wood, ca. 1446-48 (Museum of the Works of the Prato Cathedral - Piccoli Grandi Musei)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 5 As regards the smaller Virgin and Child within a facture of bronze appliques intended to be set Niche, an attention toward the advent of serially into various objects like processional crosses and made paxes should be considered. A majority tabernacle doors, translated also for use on paxes of early paxes were produced with individual or separately cast parts for frames. individually in fine materials like silver and did The popularity of the pax also arose in congress not transition into serially produced bronze with their demand. Filarete’s earliest paxes date objects until closer to the mid-15th century. The to the mid-1440s and this may likewise apply to beginnings of this can be observed in the serial the dating of paxes emanating from Donatello’s sphere. The invention of a small relief intended for use on paxes is more likely an invention born out of the generation that followed Donatello.

As concerns the development of serially produced bronze paxes in Florence, the present author has already suggested a possible experimentation in this direction by Donatello’s occasional collaborator, Maso di Bartolomeo, whose expertise in bronze and inventive production of the Reliquary for the Holy Girdle of the Virgin (Fig. 04) made for the Opera del Duomo in Prato between 1446-48 may have been stimulus for the creation of small-scale works in bronze requiring a sophisticated level of craftsmanship.28 Maso’s subsequent work on the bronze doors for the North Sacristy of Florence Cathedral, in collaboration with Michelozzo and , may have been further impetus for the idea of serially produced bronze paxes, spurred by Luca’s success and achievements in the serial facture of glazed terracottas during the 1440s.

On account of its close correspondence with Luca and Michelozzo’s designs and a stylistic Fig. 05: Pax with the Madonna and Child flanked by Two Adoring consistency between the carved ivory putti on Angels here attributed to the workshop of Maso di Bartolomeo, Maso’s Reliquary for the Holy Girdle, the present bronze, ca. 1440s-1450s, Florence, Italy (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) author has suggested Maso and his workshop

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 6 were responsible for a pax of the Madonna and While the Virgin and Child within a Niche is Child flanked by two Adoring Angels, known by acknowledged for its intended use on paxes it is examples at the National Gallery of Art29 (Fig. 05) enigma that no published examples preserve a and one formerly in Berlin.30 The pax is comprised contemporary example in its original frame. A few of at least 13-to-14 individually cast parts, joined examples in pax-form, however, are known. The by sprues which have been carefully hammered most common variety, known by three examples,31 and concealed, although the Berlin example is features the relief cast integrally with an arched possibly an earlier experimental iteration of the frame of Lombard origin, perhaps from the mid- pax, lacking finesse with regard to concealing the 16th century, surmounted by dolphins and the sprues and suggesting an environment in which head of a putto. That the relief is cast integral the logistics of production were continually being with the frame is immediate evidence for its later improved upon. facture while the motif lacks the scalloped niche and is naively overworked.

A single example in pax-form, providing a terminus ante quem, is at the British Museum, dated 1486 and featuring the arms of Marino Tomacelli who was Bishop of Cassano from 1485- 94.32 Although an earlier cast, this version is again debased, cast integral and floating against a stippled background.

More obscure is a truncated repoussé copper example from the vault of the sacristy of the Church of St. Ursula in Cologne, Germany in which a late 15th century gothic pax frame features the relief hinged on a pin for storing a small relic behind it (Fig. 06). Though scarcely discussed, it is one of the earliest appropriations of an Italian design on a Northern pax.

Here published for the first time is a probable contemporary example of the relief in its original frame (Fig. 07). The bronze has a high copper content typical of mid-15th century Florentine bronzes and although the handle is either a Fig. 06: Virgin and Child in a Niche, bronze, ca. 1440-1500, replacement or was removed and adjusted, the Florence, Italy (relief) and Cologne, Germany (pax frame) (Church of St. Ursula, Cologne)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 7 impression left behind by a former bolt, originally is the raised flange along the exterior margin of securing it, is consistent with quattrocento paxes. the relief which hugs the protruding edge of the The rope molded border and predella of the pax frame (Fig. 09). Independent casts of the relief reflects the same kind observed on Michelozzo’s do not feature this raised marginal flange but Madonna and Child marble at the Bargello (Fig. appear taken from an impression of only the flat 08). interior surface. Rather than being cast, the relief on the present pax may instead be a repoussé work Unlike the previously discussed paxes, the present embossed over a master model and enhanced one features an independent example of the relief with chased details. This experimental approach set into a separately cast frame comprised of six may have been employed prior to casting the individually cast parts.33 Unique to this example individual examples of the relief that are more

Fig. 07: Virgin and Child in a Niche here attributed to Michele di Fig. 08: Madonna and Child by Michelozzo, marble, ca. 1430, Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy Florence, Italy (Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 8 popularly known today and deriving perhaps from treated wax impressions taken from the original model. The production of a theoretically earlier repoussé variant of the relief mimicking the stamp-like production of stucco, cartapesta and terracottas typical of Florentine workshops may have preceded the use of individual casts of the relief enterprising from the original model.34 It is possible the copper repoussé example in Cologne, cropped to fit into its later gothic frame and featuring the exposed edges of a former flange, may be an additional instance of this early workshop practice, removed from its original context and applied to a later Northern one.

The close affinity of this pax with Michelozzo, and the hypothetical production of paxes in the workshop of Maso di Bartolomeo may direct us Fig. 09: Detail of the Virgin and Child in a Niche here attributed to an overlooked candidate for the author of this to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy relief and that of the Virgin and Child within an Arch: Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, also called Michele di Giovanni di Bartolo, or simply “Il Greco,” a nickname he presumably earned for his unabated affection for the classical.35

Although considered to have emerged from the school of Michelozzo and Bernardo Rossellino, Michele’s activity in Florence is hardly known. Documents place his birth probably in 1418 and Fig. 10: Detail of a wood-inlaid door panel for the entrance hall in 1440 he became registered as a member of the of the Novitiate leading to the Sacristy of the Medici Chapel 36 at Santa Croce, Florence by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, guild of masters of stone and wood. That same ca. 1440s (left); detail of a pax with the Madonna and Child year he was responsible for the inlaid wooden flanked by Two Adoring Angels here attributed to the workshop cabinets still in situ within the sacristy of the of Maso di Bartolomeo, bronze, ca. 1440s-1450s, Florence, Italy (right; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. It is during the 1440s that Michele probably met Maso di Bartolomeo and possibly began working as an assistant in his workshop and perhaps initially

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 9 Fig. 11: Detail of the tympanum for the portal of San Domenico, by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, stone, 1554 (left); detail of the Virgin and Child within an Arch here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1445-54, Florence, Italy (right; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)

with wooden models used for bronze casting.37 projects for Piero de’ Medici at Santissima If so, Michele would have been witness to the Annunziata and the church of San Miniato production of the bronze candlesticks in Maso’s al Monte in Florence. If Michele was active as workshop produced during the 1440s as well an assistant during this period, presumably as the gilt bronze door and reliquary casket for occupied with minor works, this might account the chapel housing the Relic of the Girdle at the for the distinctive nimbus of the Madonna on Opera del Duomo in Prato. He may have also the Madonna and Child flanked by two Adoring observed the initial production related to the Angels pax whose motif appears also on the wood bronze doors for the North Sacristy of Florence inlay of a door Michele executed for Michelozzo’s Cathedral, originally charged to Donatello but portal within Santa Croce during the 1440s (Fig. entrusted to Maso, Michelozzo and Luca della 10).39 That Michele was a member of the stone Robbia. After Donatello left Florence in 1444 and and wood guild would not have inhibited him with Michelozzo’s increased focus on architecture, from gathering an experience in bronze and being Maso became the leading bronzista of Florence qualified to work in the medium, as members were during this period.38 known to tangentially work in bronze.40 Michele’s capability in the medium is confirmed when he During the last half of the 1440s, Maso would assumes Maso’s role as cannon founder and official continue to collaborate with Michelozzo on sculptor for the Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 10 Fig. 12: Detail of the Virgin and Child within a Niche here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy (left; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC); detail of the stone window ornaments in the Sala della Jole in the Ducal Palazzo, Urbino, by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1554-57 (right)

in 1457-58, following Maso’s tragic death while Specifically, the eyes have the same semi-circular testing a bombard there in 1457.41 shape with lids outlined by neatly arched strokes and pupils delineated by a modest drilled-hole Michele’s earliest connection to Maso is confirmed (Fig. 11). when, in 1554, he went to Urbino along with another of Maso’s trusted assistants, Pasquino Michele remained in Urbino where he was enlisted da Montepulciano, to complete the portal for again under the auspices of Fra Carnevale, to assist the façade of San Domenico, begun in 1449. The in the decoration of the Duke’s palace adjacent to project was commissioned by the Duke of Urbino, San Domenico, tasked with converting its gothic Federigo da Montefeltro, and was overseen by Fra interiors with an updated antiquarian modality Carnevale. The angels flanking God the Father in rife with Classical and Florentine influences. In the portal’s tympanum are confidently ascribed to particular, Michele was assigned the decoration Michele and it is in this relief that we may observe of the Appartamento della Jole where his stylistic an initial relationship with the Virgin and Child tendencies are most evident. A notable portrayal within an Arch. A similar spirit is evident in the of his talent is additionally found on a stone facial character of the infant-angel and the Virgin. relief of the Madonna and Child with Four Angels,

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 11 Fig. 13: Detail of the Virgin and Child within a Niche here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy (center; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC); details of the stone window ornaments in the Sala della Jole in the Ducal Palazzo, Urbino, by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1554-57 (left and right)

Fig. 14: Detail of the Virgin and Child within an Arch here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1445-54, Florence, Italy (left; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC); detail of the stone window ornaments in the Sala della Jole in the Ducal Palazzo, Urbino, by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1554-57 (right)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 12 Fig. 15: Detail of the Virgin and Child in a Niche here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy (left); detail of the stone window ornaments in the Sala della Jole in the Ducal Palazzo, Urbino, by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1554-57 (right)

probably intended for a chapel within the palace for Bishop Federighi at Santa Trinita in Florence but whose original context is lost.42 and the cherub in a window decoration attributed to Michelozzo’s workshop at the Pazzi Chapel in It is in the various works Michele provided for the Santa Croce, Florence.43 ducal palace where further stylistic comparisons may be drawn against the bronze reliefs of the Other idiosyncratic details can be made in Virgin and Child within an Arch and Virgin and comparison with the tondo busts that navigate the Child within a Niche. Returning to the rendering Sala della Jole’s window ornament. For example, of eyes, we observe an austere yet potent intensity the specific approach to rendering tufts of hair on a cherub featured in the tondo of a window which are demarcated by stacked curls alternating decoration in the Sala della Jole. Its sharply direction along each tier (Fig. 13). The way in outlined character recalls the eyes of the Virgin which the sculptor treats the stone is similar and Child in a Niche (Fig. 12) while the motif itself to his approach toward chasing bronze. This is is born out of the logical influence of Luca della most evident in the tondo featuring a bearded Robbia and Michelozzo, which Matteo Ceriana man whose wild strands are carved vigorously in compares against a cherub by Luca on the tomb a manner recalling the heavily chased cast of the

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 13 Fig. 16: Madonna and Child with Four Angels by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, stone, ca. 1554-57 (Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 14 National Gallery of Art’s Virgin and Child within an Arch (Fig. 14).44 A less dynamic approach is likewise comparable between the treatment of hair observed on a bust of a man and that of the child Christ on the chased Virgin and Child within a Niche pax (Fig. 15).

Further stylistic tendencies are evident on Michele’s Madonna and Child with Four Angels (Fig. 16). The very specific ornament along the cuff of the Madonna’s sleeve favors the one also observed on the Virgin and Child within an Arch (Fig. 17) while the Madonna’s folded collar is a stylistic hallmark observed also in the attendant angels in the background of the relief as well as on the infant-angels featured in the tympanum of the San Domenico portal (Fig. 18). Its feature on the Virgin’s collar in the Virgin and Child within a Niche is tantamount, inclusive of the ruled lines which border its interior ornament.

The architectural character of the Madonna and Child with Four Angels epitomizes the classical vocabulary found on the two bronze reliefs, inclusive of the scalloped niche and especially the receding bay within which the Madonna and Child are set before a retreating architrave. The squared frames outlining the pseudo-triptych also recall the tiered moulding that squares the Madonna and Child within an Arch relief. The rotund face of the child Christ and his wafting tufts of hair also recall the child Christ on the same bronze relief.

The use of single-point perspective in the Virgin and Child within an Arch may also owe an indebtedness Fig. 17: Detail of the Madonna and Child with Four Angels to Fra Carnevale’s influence over Michele, having by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, stone, ca. 1554-57 intimately overseen the decorative program for the (top; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino); detail of Virgin and Child within an Arch here attributed to Michele palace apartments. Carnevale’s arrival in Florence in di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1445-54, Florence, 1445 would have given him ample opportunity to meet Italy (bottom; Wallace Collection, UK)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 15 Fig. 18: Detail of the tympanum for the portal of San Domenico, Urbino by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, stone, 1554 (left); detail of the Virgin and Child within a Niche here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, bronze, ca. 1440-54, Florence, Italy (center; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC); detail of the Madonna and Child with Four Angels by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, stone, ca. 1554-57 (right; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino)

Michele, especially if Michele was active in Maso’s upon which Michele based his classical scene of workshop, as documents indicate Maso’s rapport a Bacchic procession for the fireplace of theSala with Carnevale, who was likely responsible for della Jole (Fig. 20).47 Other fireplaces in the palace Maso’s subsequent involvement in the creation of feature flying putto flanking heraldic devices. the portal for San Domenico in Urbino.45 Their legs extend with pointed feet in a pose that echoes that of the standing child upon the parapet Lastly, attention has been given to a sketch of the Virgin and Child within an Arch (Fig. 21). depicting three scenes of the Virgin and Child at the Musée Condé Chantilly, frequently attributed Michele’s theoretical activity in Maso’s workshop to Pisanello or his ambit, ca. 1432-40 (Fig. 19). The during the last half of the 1540s provides a suitable figure group along the right-side of the sketch context from which the two bronze reliefs would shares a homogeny with the Virgin and Child have been conceived. It was during this period within a Niche while the group along the base of that Maso worked closely with other major artistic the sheet is a precise reproduction of the Virgin Florentines like Michelozzo and Luca della Robbia and Child within an Arch. Michele may have and the overarching influence of Donatello’s touch been aware of this sketch and numerous others upon these masters provides ample context for the by the same hand that once formed a collection invention of the two reliefs. Given the distinctive of designs presumably circulating Florence and Florentine nature of the two reliefs, they were Rome during the mid-15th century. Some of the likely conceived in that city sometime prior to sketches reproduce scenes from an antique Roman Michele’s departure for Urbino in 1454. sarcophagus known during the Renaissance,46

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 16 Fig. 19: Sketch of Three scenes of the Virgin and Child, anonymous or workshop of Pisanello, mid-15th century (Musée Condé, Chantilly, France)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 17 Fig. 20 (above): Details of the Sala della Jole Palazzo, Urbino, by Michele di fireplace in the Ducal Giovanni da Fiesole. ca. 1554-57 (left and right); sketch of Pan and Two Maenads and the Heads of Two Lions, anonymous, Lombardy, mid-15th century, after a Roman sarcophagus (center; Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan)

Fig. 21 (left): Detail of the Virgin and Child within an Arch here attributed to Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole, ca. 1445-54, Florence, Italy (left; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC); detail of a putto by Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole (turned 90° counter-clockwise; right; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino)

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 18 Endnotes

1 Charles Avery, for example, wondered Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, no. 7, p. 10; 10 Wilhelm Bode (1897): Die Sammlung if the relief could reflect a lost marble Hans Kauffman (1935):Donatello. Eine Oscar Hainauer, Berlin, W. Büxenstein, original once forming a house altar Einführung in sein Bilden und Denken. no. 127, pp. 29, 80. commissioned by Piero del Pugliese in the Berlin, Grotesche Verlagsbuchandlung, 1490s and once featuring a central marble pp. 156, 223; and D. Lewis (2006): op. cit. 11 Francesco Negri Arnoldi (1983): Bellano relief of the Virgin and Child, now lost. The (note 3). e Bertoldo nella bottega di Donatello. painted wings of the house altar by Fra Prospettiva 33–36, pp. 98-99. Bartolomeo survive in the Uffizi, Florence. 8  See Paul Schubring (1907): Donatello. See Charles Avery (1989): Donatello’s Des Meisters Werke. Abbildungen, 277. 12 This tentative idea was omitted from the Madonnas Revisited. Donatello-Studien. Stuttgart and Leipzig, Deutsche Verlags- first monograph on Bertoldo di Giovanni. Munich, pp. 226–228. Anstalt, pp. 170, 201 and Paul Schubring See Aimee Ng, Alexnader Noelle, (1907): Gli acquisti del museo Kaiser Xavier Salomon (eds.): (2019): Bertoldo di 2 Christie’s auction, 7 July 1987, lot 150. Friedrich. L’Arte, X, p. 452; ; J.G. Mann Giovanni. The Frick Collection, NY. Anna Jolly theorized the reliefs were (1931): Wallace Collection Catalogues. possibly made for the purpose of serving Sculpture: Marbles, Terra-cottas and Bronzes, 13 E. Bange (1922): op. cit. (note 7), no. 292, as tabernacle doors although Jeremy Carvings in Ivory and Wood, Plaquettes, p. 39; Eric Maclagan (1924): Catalogue of Warren reasonably argued against this Medals, Coins and Wax Reliefs. London; Italian Plaquettes, London, The Board of noting the stucco and terracotta editions Eric Maclagan and Margaret Longhurst Education, pp. 16-17; Ulrich Middeldorf of the relief imply a devotional purpose (1932): Victoria and Albert Museum: (1944): Medals and Plaquettes from the whereas the auctioned example is an Catalogue of Italian Sculpture, 2 vols. Sigmund Morgenroth Collection. Chicago, eccentric appropriation of the relief. See London; John Pope-Hennessy (1964): p. 41, nos. 295-96; and C. Avery (1989): Anna Jolly (1998): Madonnas by Donatello Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria op. cit. (note 6). and his Circle. Frankfurt am Main. Peter and Albert Museum. London, Her Majesty’s Lang, no. 44.1, p. 148 and Jeremy Warren Stationary Office, vol. I, p. 91 and John 14 J. Warren (2016): op. cit. (note 2), nos. 4-5, (2016): The Wallace Collection. Catalog Pope-Hennessey (1965): Renaissance pp. 36-39. of Italian Sculpture. The Trustees of the Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, Wallace Collection, London, No. 3, pp. London, Phaidon Press, p. 21; Alison 15 E. Molinier (1886): op. cit. (note 7), 32-35. Luchs (1985): Italian Renaissance Sculpture vol. II, no. 372, p. 30; Paul Schubring in the Time of Donatello, exh. cat. (Detroit, (1907): Donatello. Des Meisters Werke. 3 Douglas Lewis (2006) ed. F. Rossi: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 23 October Abbildungen, 277. Stuttgart and Leipzig, Placchette e rilievi di bronzo nell’età del 1985-5 January 1986 and Fort Worth, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, p. 95; J.G. Mantegna, Mantova e Milano. Skira, pp. Kimbell Museum of Art, 22 February-5 Mann (1931): op. cit. (note 8), p. 111; S. 3-15. April 1986), Detroit, The Detroit Institute Ricci (1931): op. cit. (note 7), pp. 174, of Arts, p. 140 and Alison Luchs (1986): 234; J. Pope-Hennessey (1965): op. cit. 4 Neville Rowley (2016): Maria mit Kind in Donatello e i suoi, exh. cat. (Florence, Forte (note 8), no. 57, pp. 20-21; Francesco einer Nische / Virgin and Child in a Niche. del Belvedere, 15 June-7 September 1986), Rossi (1974): Placchette. Sec. XV-XIX. Ident. Nr. 3044, Staatliche Museen zu Detroit and Florence, The Detroit Institute Neri Pozza Editore, Vicenza, Italy, Berlin online collections database. www. of Arts, La Casa Usher and Arnaldo no. 14, pp. 9-10; Giancarlo Gentilini smb-digital.de (accessed June 2020). Mondadori Editore, p. 167; J. Warren (Paola Barocchi , ed.) (1985): Omaggio a (2016): op. cit. (note 2); and N. Rowley Donatello. 1386-1986. Donatello e la storia 5 Neville Rowley (2016): Maria mit dem (2016): op. cit. (note 4). del Museo, exh. cat. (Florence, Museo Kind im Mantel. Ident. Nr. 1940, Staatliche Nazionale del Bargello, 19 December Museen zu Berlin online collections 9 See Ulrich Middeldorf (1976): 1985-30 May 1986), Florence, SPES, pp. database. www.smb-digital.de (accessed from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: 430-431; Giuseppe and Fiorenza-Vannel June 2020). European Schools XIV-XIX century. Toderi (1996): Placchette Secoli XV-XVIII, London; C. Avery: (1989): op. cit. (note Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Studio 6 See C. Avery (1989): op. cit. (note 1); N. 6); A. Jolly (1998): op. cit. (note 2); Keith per Edizioni Scelte, Firenze, Italy, no. Rowley (2016): op. cit. (note 4); and J. Christiansen (2004): Fra Carnevale. Un 101, p. 61; Bertrand Jestaz (1997): Catalog Warren (2016): op. cit. (note 2). artista rinascimentale da a Piero del Museo Civico di Belluno: Le Placchette della Francesca, exh. cat. (Milan, Pinacoteca e I Piccoli Bronzi.Belluno, no. 69, pp. 7 See Émile Molinier (1886): Les Bronzes di Brera, New York, Metropolitan 84-85; A. Jolly (1998): op. cit. (note 2), de la Renaissance. Les plaquettes. Paris, Museum of Art, p. 168; Aldo Galli (2010): no. 45, pp. 47, 153-54; Thomas Richter vol. I, no. 64, p. 34; Ernst Bange (1922): Vocazione e prime esperienze di Antonio (2003): Paxtafeln und Pacificalia: Studien Die Italienischen Bronzen der Renaissance di Cristoforo e Niccolò Baroncelli, scultori zu Form, Ikonographie und liturgischem und des Barock, Zweiter Teil: Reliefs und fiorentini a . Prospettiva, 139-140, Gebrauch. Verlag und Datenbank für Plaketten. Berlin and Leipzig, Walter de July-October 2010, p. 44; and J. Warren Geisteswissenschaften, Weimar, no. 75, Gruyter, no. 3, p. 1; Seymour de’ Ricci (2016): op. cit. (note 2). pp. 134, 420-21; Jeremy Warren (2014): (1931): The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture in the

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 19 Endnotes

Ashmolean Museum, Vol. 3: Plaquettes. 26 A terracotta cast of theVirgin and Child dated 1560 (art market, Hargesheimer Ashmolean Museum Publications, UK, within an Arch is in the Louvre (Inv. 704). Kunstauktionen). no. 273, pp. 811-12; J. Warren (2016): For the most recent and thorough census op. cit. (note 2), nos. 4-5, pp. 36-39; of examples see N. Rowley (2016): op. cit. 35 Clarence Kennedy (1932): Il Greco aus Neville Rowley (2016): Virgin and Child. (note 4). Fiesole. Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Ident. Nr. 1034, Staatliche Museen Institutes in Florenz 4. Bd., H. 1. zu Berlin online collections database. 27 J. Warren (2016): op. cit. (note 2) Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, pp. www.smb-digital.de (accessed June 25-40. 2020); Emmanuel Lamouche (2018): 28 Michael Riddick (2017): A Remarkable Bronzes, plaquettes, médailles. Catalogue Florentine Pax. Renbronze.com (accessed 36 C. Kennedy (1932): op. cit. (note 34). de l’exposition: Splendeurs médiévales, la June 2020). collection Duclaux révélée (Musée des 37 A wooden model for a candelabrum Beaux-arts d’Angers, 9 novembre 2018 - 29 National Gallery of Art, Inv. 1957.14.392. attributed to Maso in the Cathedral 24 février 2019), no. 45. of Prato, closely related to his Pistoia 30 E. Bange (1922): op. cit. (note 7), no. 302. candelabrum in the same cathedral, 16 B. Jestaz (1997): op. cit. (note 15). is preserved at the Museum of Fine 31 Examples of this version are at the Arts in Boston. See Giuseppe Marchini 17 See G. Gentilini (1985): op. cit. (note 15). Louvre (Inv. OA2539), one formerly in (1968): Maso di Bartolomeo. Donatello e Berlin (Inv. 7321) and now in the Pushkin il suo tempo. Atti del Convegno. Firenze, 18 J. Pope-Hennessy (1993): Donatello Museum in Moscow and one formerly Padova, p. 237 and Giorgio Bonsanti Sculptor, NY, London, Paris, pp. 252-53. in the Kauffman collection (Helbing (1986): Maso di Bartolomeo. Donatello auction, 4 December 1917, lot 165). e i suoi: Scultura fiorentina del primo 19 D. Lewis (2006): op. cit. (note 3). rinascimento. Firenze, pp. 189-191. 32 British Museum, Inv. PE 1915,12-16,325. 20 E. Lamouche (2018): op. cit. (note 13) and 38 Matteo Ceriana (2005): Fra Carnevale and N. Rowley (2016): op. cit. (note 15). 33 The arched frame with the relief fitted the Practice of Architecture. From Filippo therein, has been set upon a pre- Lippi to : Fra Carnevale 21 J. Warren (2016): op. cit. (note 2), nos. 4-5, cast horizontal support base with a and the Making of a Renaissance Master. pp. 36-39. thin flange along its rear, hidden but Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, pp. observable from below the pax and 96-135. 22 D. Lewis (2006): op. cit. (note 2), nested between the final base and translation provided via English backplate, extending about 3 mm down. 39 For a synopsis of Michele’s wood inlay manuscript, February 2016. With thanks A separate support base, 6 mm in height, work at Santa Croce see Philip Jacks to Doug Lewis. forms the bottom of the pax, supporting and William Caferro (2001): The Spinelli the initial base and upper arched frame. of Florence. Fortunes of a Renaissance 23 J. Warren (2016): op. cit. (note 2), nos. There is an incuse area on the reverse Merchant Family. Pennsylvania State 4-5, pp. 36-39. For the auctioned stucco of this base formed to accept the flange University Press, pp. 164-66. example see Galerie Fischer auction 24- of the first base. The rim of the first 28 November 1964, lot 760. base is observable from the back where 40 For a discussion concerning the the overall backplate of the pax has production of bronze by members of the 24 Bronze casts of the Virgin and Child within been formed over it, causing a slight stone and wood guild in Florence see an Arch are in the Wallace Collection horizontal protrusion where the support Martin Wackerangel (1981): The World of (Inv. S297), Berlin Museums (Inv. 3044), base has been covered. The interior lip the Florentine Renaissance Artist: Projects National Gallery of Art (Inv. 1957.14.131), of the repousse has been tooled where it and Patrons, Workshop and Art Market. an unidentified collection cited by folds outwardly to nest into the frame. It Princeton University Press, pp. 305-06. Francesco Negri Arnoldi, documented in has been fused to the base. a photo at the Gabinetto Fotografico della 41 Predrag Marković (2012): The Artists Soprintendenza di Firenze (presumably 34 Anna Jolly’s census counted 22 known of Michelozzo’s Circle in Dubrovnik an example formerly in the Grassi examples of the relief. See A. Jolly (1998): and the Reflections of their Activity collection) and a version appropriated as op. cit. (note 2). However, the present in Dalmatia. Historia Artis Magistra. a tabernacle door (see note 2). author has located a total of 33-to-34 amicorum discipulorumque munuscula examples and Doug Lewis’ unpublished Johanni Höfler septuagenario dicata. 25 Stucco casts of the Virgin and Child catalog entry may potentially add more Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete: within an Arch are in Berlin (Inv. SKS 76), to this enumeration. Confirming Jeremy Slovensko umetnostnozgodovinsko društvo. Szépmüvészeti Múzeum in Budapest Warren’s note that the casts of the relief Ljubljana, pp. 221-30. (Inv. 2049), Victoria & Albert Museum, were likely produced over a great length and a private collection (sale of the Raoul of time is proven by the dated example at 42 Giovanni Russo: Michele di Giovanni da Tolentino collection, 1926, lot 719). the British Museum, already discussed, Fiesole, detto “Il Greco.” Galleria Nazionale and an unpublished crude, later cast delle Marche and the Palazzo Ducale di

Michele di Giovanni da Fiesole Michael Riddick - RenBronze.com and the origins of the Florentine plaquette 20 Endnotes

Urbino. www.gallerianazionalemarche.it 45 Andrea di Lorenzo (2005): Documents (accessed June 2020). in the Florentine Archives. From Filippo Lippi to Piero della Francesca: Fra Carnevale 43 M. Ceriana (2005): op. cit. (note 34). and the Making of a Renaissance Master. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, pp. 44 The character and wear of the gilding 290-93. observed on the Virgin and Child within an Arch at the National Gallery of Art 46 The antique sarcophagus upon which follows similarly with the contemporary Michele’s chimney frieze is based pax of the Virgin and Child within a Niche. is now at the British Museum (Inv. The NGA relief has a notably weaker 1805,0703.130) and was formerly in Santa fidelity than the other bronze examples Maria Maggiore in Rome during the 15th of the composition. The lively chasing century. over its original details appears to salvage what must have been a faulted, 47 Bernhard Degenhart (1950): Michele di weak cast, in which the chasing has Giovanni di Bartolo: Disegni dall’antico successfully brought it back-to-life. e il camino “Della Iole.” Bollettino d’Arte, This extra attention given to the relief is ser. 4, 35, no. 3. Ministero dei beni e evident where the loose stone along the delle attivita culturali e del turismo, pp. arch is rendered with sharp incisions as 208-15. opposed to the feature of a raised edge which adds heightened perspectival effect on the other known casts of the composition.

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