Andrea della Robbia

Florentine, 1435 - 1525

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Andrea della Robbia, Italian 16th Century, Saint Peter, c. 1900/1925 (figure); c. 1550 (framing garland), glazed terracotta, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.329

Saint Peter

Andrea della Robbia, Italian 16th Century · c. 1900/1925 (figure); c. 1550 (framing garland) · glazed terracotta ·  Accession ID  1939.1.329

Sculpted in painted terracotta, a woman is shown from the waist up, bracing a standing nude, plump baby boy. The woman, baby, and two winged heads floating to either side are sculpted in snow-white relief against a flat, cobalt-blue background, all contained within a round gold frame. The roundel is then framed within a rectangular wooden panel ornamented with gold and blue molding, rosettes, and leafy designs. The boy, woman, and winged heads all have plate-like halos, and their eyes have hazel-brown irises outlined in black. Within the round frame, the boy stands to our left of center, and his halo nearly reaches the top of the roundel. His body faces us as he stands on his right leg, to our left. That foot seems to rest on the ledge of the round frame, and he leans against the woman, to our right. He looks off over our left shoulder, his pursed lips set between chubby cheeks. With both pudgy hands, he holds onto the woman’s thumb or garment as she braces his torso. Her body is angled toward the boy, and she looks down and off in that direction. She has a straight nose, a pointed chin, delicate lips, and her thin eyebrows are black. Her wavy hair is parted down the middle and pulled back under a veil, and her long-sleeved garment falls in folds down her front. Her other hand wraps around the baby’s far hip. The winged baby heads hover at her shoulders, one to each side. The blue background has some bands of lighter and darker blue, suggesting a cloud-streaked sky. Gold rosettes fill the top corners between the round frame and the square panel into which it is set. Shield-like forms fill the lower corners. Fluted columns rise to either side of the central panel, and molding runs across the top and bottom. Some of the molding is painted gold, while other areas have gold, leafy patterns painted against the blue background.
Andrea della Robbia, Madonna and Child with Cherubim, c. 1485, glazed terracotta, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.122

Madonna and Child with Cherubim

Andrea della Robbia · c. 1485 · glazed terracotta ·  Accession ID  1937.1.122

Andrea della Robbia, The Adoration of the Child, after 1477, glazed terracotta, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.1.2

The Adoration of the Child

Andrea della Robbia · after 1477 · glazed terracotta ·  Accession ID  1961.1.2

Anonymous Artist, Madonna and Child with God the Father and Cherubim, 1480/1490, glazed terracotta, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.123

Madonna and Child with God the Father and Cherubim

Anonymous Artist · 1480/1490 · glazed terracotta ·  Accession ID  1937.1.123