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Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence

July 1 – October 8, 2007
West Building, Main Floor, West Garden Court and Galleries 10 and 11

Desiderio da Settignano, Saint Jerome in the Desert, c. 1461, marble, Widener Collection, 1942.9.113

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 28 works of sculpture by Desiderio da Settignano and his followers were presented in this first international exhibition to explore the work of the Renaissance sculptor and his immediate circle. 3 works by Desiderio from the collection of the National Gallery of Art were shown with loans from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, the Musée du Louvre, Paris, and other museums. Photomurals of Desiderio's monumental tomb of Carlo Marsuppini in the church of Santa Croce and the sacrament tabernacle in the church of San Lorenzo in Florence also were on view.

In connection with the exhibition, marble works reflecting Desiderio's style and influence were installed in Main Floor, Lobby B, together with terracotta reliefs from the workshops of Luca and Andrea della Robbia, contemporaries of Desiderio.

An installation in the National Gallery of Art's library, Character of Form: Clarence Kennedy Photographs the Sculpture of Desiderio da Settignano, displayed photographs from the holdings of the library's image collections. Gallery talks were presented in the exhibition in July and August.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the Musée du Louvre, Paris, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Curators for the exhibition were Marc Bormand, senior curator, department of sculpture, Musée du Louvre; Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, director, Museo Nazionale del Bargello; Nicholas Penny, senior curator and head of the department of sculpture and decorative arts, National Gallery of Art; and Alison Luchs, curator of early European sculpture, National Gallery of Art.

Sponsor: The exhibition in Washington was sponsored by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art. It was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Attendance: 82,655

Catalog: Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence, edited by Marc Bormand, Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, and Nicholas Penny. Milan: 5 Continents Editions; Washington DC: National Gallery of Art; and Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2007.

Other Venues: Musee du Louvre, October 27, 2006–January 22, 2007
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, February 2–June 3, 2007

Desiderio da Settignano
Italian, 1429 - 1464
Desiderio da Settignano
Audio, Released: August 7, 2007, (9:18 minutes)
Press Event: Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence
Audio, Released: June 26, 2007, (1:09:05 minutes)