The glazed sculpture of Luca Della Robbia and his family, admired by Leonardo da Vinci and whose technique still baffles experts was at the centre of an extremely interesting meeting this afternoon in Barga.
As the Renaissance master Luca, (or his nephew Andrea and the latter’s son Giovanni, nobody is still absolutely sure just who was the actual hand behind the work in the Chiesa di Santa Elisabetta), was at the centre, literally and figuratively of a discussion about sacred art and its position in the church by the art historian and author, Mons.Timothy Verdon.
His talk can be heard below in the audioboo (in Italiano)
This brings to a close the Pastoral Visit to Barga by the Bishop of Pisa mons. Giovanni Paolo Benotto – more articles – opening the newly constructed ”centro caritas” , meeting the cultural and sports associations and visiting his parishioners
The glazed technique invented by Luca della Robbia to protect his creations from the elements prompted Leonardo to say that it ”had made painting eternal”.
Although a talented sculptor, Della Robbia was best known for this glazing which ensured that the colour and precision of his sculptures long outlasted those of his rivals.
The technique was a closely guarded secret, shared only with family members, and continues to astound experts today.
Laboratories in the Louvre have been carrying out diagnostic tests for months aimed at discovering the Della Robbia secret but have so far been unable to reproduce the technique.
Mons.Timothy Verdon, an art historian with a PhD from Yale University, directs both the Diocesan Office of Sacred Art and Church Cultural Heritage in Florence, and the Cathedral Foundation Museum (Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore). Author of books and articles on sacred art in Italian and English, he has been a Consultant to the Vatican Commission for Church Cultural Heritage and a Fellow of the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, and currently teaches in the Florence Program of Stanford University. He writes regularly for the cultural page of the Osservatore Romano and in 2010 curated the exhibit Christ. His Body, His Face in Art at the Reggia di Venaria Reale at Turin. Msgr. Verdon is also Director of the Centre for Ecumenism of the Archdiocese of Florence. He lives in Florence, where he is a Canon of the Cathedral.
BLAST FROM THE PAST – a 3D moving image of Chiesa di Santa Elisabetta from the barganews archives back in 2002 can be seen here