Meeting of
Mary and
Elisabeth
Luca della
Robbia
Italian
sculptor,
Florentine school
(b.
1399/1400, Firenze,
d. 1482, Firenze)
c.
1450
San
Giovanni Fuorcivitas, Pistoia
White
terra-cotta
153
cm
Jpg: ura-communia
From:
Luke
1: 39-42
39
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to
a city of Judah,
40
and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42
And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among
women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Luca della Robbia is famous
for profecting
a glazed terra-cotta in such a way that it made it resistant to damage
from exposure to the outside such as wind and rain.
The "Meeting of Mary and
Elisabeth"
was made in this process and quite remarkable given that it's fully
three
demential.
Although
glazed
terra-cotta had long been used as earthenware, della Robbia popularized
it for sculpture and this made it much cheaper to create when compared
to marble. The trick was, as I understand it, a bit of metal ore was
added
to the clay before firing.
The
medium
gained popularity in fifteenth-century Florence and became a specialty
of the della Robbia family studio -- as it was passed down from
generation
to generation.
John
Singer Sargent
Meeting
of Mary and Elisabeth after Luca della Robbia
possibly
1897
Sketch for the Joyful Mysteries, The Annunciation - The Virgin's Drapery
1903–16
Notes:
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