Robbia, Luca della

(c. 1399-1482)

   The best-known member of the Florentine della Robbia family of sculptors. Luca della Robbia's earliest documented work is the Cantoria for the Cathedral of Florence of 1431-1438, now housed in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo. Della Robbia is known mainly for his glazed terracotta reliefs, such as the ones filling the roundels in Filippo Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel at Santa Croce in Florence he executed in c. 1443-1450 with images of saints. He is credited with the invention of the half-length Virgin and Child type glazed in white and set against a blue background that emphasizes the affection shared by the figures. An example is the Madonna of the Apple in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, of 1455-1460 where the Christ Child smiles as his mother lovingly presses her head against his. The success of the Cantoria earned della Robbia further commissions from the committee of the cathedral works, among them two lunette terracotta reliefs titled the Resurrection (1442) and the Ascension of Christ (1446; both Florence, Museo dell' Opera del Duomo). These works he executed in the same white and blue glazes as his Virgin and Child reliefs. Other notable works by della Robbia include the Tabernacle in the Church of Santa Maria in Peretola (1443), the Tomb of Bishop Benozzo Federighi (1453; Santa Trinità, Florence), and the Capuccini Tondo (c. 1475; Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello).