THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART ITALIAN RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE Twenty Pictures NEW YORK 1933 COPYRIGHT, 1933 BY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART *g£c CO CO S2 lU CM ITALIAN RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE HE character of Italian sculpture in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries —the period in the history of art Tknown as the Renaissance — was determined by many factors. Of these the most influential appears to have been the revival of classical culture. Knowledge of the past was now more complete and more widely disseminated than in the Middle Ages. Ancient literature was studied in the light of a new scholarship; eager pilgrims sought the surviving monu­ ments of classical art. This enthusiasm for all that witnessed to the glory of the past speedily found expression in the arts. In the early Renaissance, that is to say in the fifteenth century, the artist's goal was not the slavish imitation of the antique. The architect freely adapted what he took from clas­ sical example. The painter and the sculptor, except for the addition of mythological and historical subjects to their reper­ toire, borrowed little outright. These artists of the fifteenth century were amateurs of the antique, not antiquarians. In the following century, however, there was a change in atti­ tude. No longer was the antique regarded merely as a source of inspiration; a servile dependence on the model became more and more the rule. But the recovery of ancient culture affected the Renaissance artist in other ways than those just noted; for there was re­ vealed a vision of man and his relation to the universe that was at the very opposite pole from the mediaeval conception. The pagan Greek or Roman was not preoccupied with the salvation of his soul; he did not regard life as a trial to be endured; his world was filled with delights for the senses, to be enjoyed, not feared. Acting upon this new conception of man's dignity, the Renaissance broke from the gray chrysalis of mediaeval speculation to spread the bright wings of ad­ venture. With the increased sense of personal importance came a greater interest in man's surroundings. In the arts this led to keener observation of nature, to studies in perspective, anatomy, and movement that reenforced the tendency, gen­ eral in European art at this time, toward realism. Civic and personal pride, the vast increase in wealth, the growth of luxury, and the universal craving for beauty stim­ ulated an extraordinary development of all the arts. No longer, as in the Middle Ages, was the Church the chief source of patronage; now it was rivaled by nobles and merchants with generous purses and a love of magnificence. These conditions created throughout Italy numerous centers of artistic produc­ tion. None was richer in genius than Florence, whose school of sculpture was preeminent throughout the Renaissance. It is significant that of the twenty sculptures selected from the Museum's collections for illustration in this picture book the majority are the work of Florentine artists. Among the Florentine sculptors of the early Renaissance two masters are outstanding, Donatello and Luca della Robbia. Led by his interest in classical art to study the nude, Donatello (figs. I, 2) rediscovered the beauty of the human form. A fervent realist, he strove to render not only the appearance of things but also the indwelling spirit. In contrast to Donatello's dramatic intensity, a tranquil sense of loveliness animates the sculpture of Luca della Robbia (figs. 4, 5), who gave per­ fected expression to the homely sentiment of such popular works of art as the terracotta reproduced in figure 3. Luca's practice of glazing terracotta with opaque enamel was continued by his nephew Andrea (fig. 6) and by the latter's son Giovanni (figs. 7, 8), as well as by other mem­ bers of the family and coworkers, who long maintained the fame of the della Robbia hottega. Sometimes, however, the terracotta was completed in whole (fig. 8) or in part (fig. 7) by painting instead of enameling. Less noble in style than Luca, Andrea was also more inclined to the sentimental, a trait that was exaggerated in the work of Giovanni. In the second half of the fifteenth century there was a ten­ dency on the part of many Florentine sculptors to overstress the exquisite and the charming —a case in point is Mino da Fiesole (fig. 15) ; nor was this trend confined to the Floren­ tine school alone (cf. fig. 14). At the same time, however, other Florentine masters, notably Verrocchio (fig. 13), car­ ried on the tradition of Donatello, devoting themselves to technical problems and the quest of truth. Occupying an intermediate position between the sentimentalists and the extreme realists, Antonio Rossellino (figs. 9, 10), Benedetto da Maiano (fig. II), and Rossellino's follower, Matteo Civitali of Lucca (fig. 12), sought to combine the charm of the former with the veracity of the latter. Of the masters of other schools whose works are represent­ ed in our illustrations, two are associated with Rome. Andrea Bregno (fig. 16) of Milan was one of the many Tuscan and Lombard sculptors attracted to Rome by the magnificence of the papal court. His numerous tomb monuments are charac­ terized by an elegance in which the influence of the antique is clearly manifest. Trained at Rome in the school of Andrea Bregno, Gian Cristoforo Romano (fig. 20) worked principally in northern Italy, where his cultivated taste and meticulous attention to detail were displayed in many important com­ missions. At Venice, in the second half of the fifteenth century, sculpture was principally in the hands of Lombard masters. Their chief representative was Pietro Lombardo (fig. 17), whose work is distinguished by exceptional ability in decora­ tion. His son Tullio (fig. 18) adopted a more classical man­ ner, reflecting the Romanizing vogue of his time. The "grand style" of the late Renaissance is exemplified in the bust of a doge (fig. 19) by the eminent Alessandro Vittoria. Renaissance sculpture in bronze will be the subject of another picture book in this series. JOSEPH BRECK. I. Donatello (School of). Florentine, 1386-1466 Madonna and Child. Painted and gilded terracotta 14.40.680 H. 2 ft. 6 in., w. 1 ft. 8^2 in. 2. Donatello. Florentine, 1386-1466 The Young Saint John. Stucco 14.40.686 H. 2 ft. 5 in., w. 1 ft. 74, in. 3. Florentine School. About 1425-1450 Madonna and Child. Painted stucco 18.70.19 H. 2 ft. 10^ in., w. 2 ft. \Yi, in. 4. Luca della Robbia. Florentine, 1400-1482 Prudence. Enameled terracotta 2I.II6 Diam. 4 ft. 7J/2 in. 5. Luca della Robbia. Florentine, 1400-1482 Madonna and Child. Enameled terracotta 14.40.685 H. 2 ft. 7j4 in., w. 1 ft. 10^ in. 6. Andrea della Robbia. Florentine, 1435-1525 Head of a Youth. Enameled terracotta 03-22 Diam. (sight) 1 ft. 9^ in. 7. Giovanni della Robbia. Florentine, I469-I529(?) The Boy Saint John. Painted and enameled terracotta 17.190.1408 H. 1 ft. %Y% in. 9. Antonio Rossellino. Florentine, 1427-1478 Madonna and Child. Marble 14.40.675 H. 2 ft. 4;H$ in., w. 1 ft. 8% in. a, go* S 2 «J '5b ° c c £ 2 CO 1^ C o c < II. Benedetto da Maiano. Florentine, 1442-1497 Saint John the Baptist. Painted terracotta n 13-155 H. (without base) I ft. 4^4 > - 12. Matteo Civitali. Lucca, 1436-1501 Angel of the Annunciation. Painted terracotta 11.97 H. 5 ft. iy2in. 13- Andrea del Verrocchio. Florentine, 1435-1488 Madonna and Child. Painted terracotta 09-215 H. 2 ft. 6%6 in., w. 1 ft. 10^4 i"- 14- The Piccolomini Master. Sienese, active about 1450-1475 Madonna and Child. Marble n 30.95.104 H. 2 ft. J4 in., w. 1 ft. 6%6' - 15- Mino da Fiesole (Workshop of). Florentine, 1430(1431? )-H84 Madonna and Child. Marble 30.95.105 H. 2 ft. 6 in., w. 2 ft. I Yz in. x L ^M 16. Andrea Bregno. Roman, 1421-1501 Saint Andrew. Marble 17.190.1736 H. 3 ft. 11 yi in., w. 2 ft. 8% in. 17- Pietro Lombardo. Venetian, about 1435-1515 Madonna and Child. Marble n 13-199 H. 2 ft. 7>4 in., w. 1 ft. Sj4 ' - tiriMlliin • 'i mJ 18. Tullio Lombardo. Venetian, about 1455-1532 A Warrior. Marble 32.100.155 H. 2 ft. IO>4 in. 19. Alessandro Vittoria. Venetian, 1525-1608 Portrait of a Doge. Marble 32.100.156 H. 2 ft. 6% in. 20. Gian Cristoforo Romano. Roman, about 1465-1512 Portrait of a Boy. Marble 32.100.154 H. 1 ft. Y% in. PICTURE BOOKS This is the second of a series of picture books published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first is entitled The American High Chest. Others will be issued from time to time. 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