Luca della Robbia

[5] Della Robbia was praised by his compatriot Leon Battista Alberti for genius comparable to that of the sculptors Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, and the painter Masaccio.

He may have trained as a goldsmith under Leonardo di Ser Giovanni according to art historian Vasari, before working with Ghiberti on the famous doors of the Florence Baptistry.

His important commission for the Cantoria ("Singing Gallery"; 1431–1438) of Florence Cathedral came before he joined the sculptor's guild Arte dei Maestri di Pietra e Legname (for workers in stone and wood) in 1432.

An effigy of the bishop in a restful pose lies on a sarcophagus sculptured with graceful reliefs of angels holding a wreath that contains the inscription.

[5] Della Robbia's earliest surviving freestanding sculpture is the white tin-glazed terracotta Visitation in the church of San Giovanni Fuoricivitas of Pistoia, dating to 1445.

Although the date of della Robbia's first work in colored glazed terra-cotta is not known, his demonstrated control of this medium secured him two major commissions for the duomo of Florence: the large reliefs of the Resurrection (also from 1445) and the Ascension of Christ(1446).

The pliant medium of baked clay covered with a "slip" of vitrified lead and refined minerals permitted a lustrous, polished surface capable of reflecting light and color that was beautifully appropriate for architectural sculpture.

[8] Whether animating the vast, somber space of the Cathedral or in the series Twelve Apostles gracing the pristine surfaces of the small Pazzi Chapel (1443–1450) in Florence, della Robbia's reliefs in this medium achieved a high level of mastery.

Working with assistants, including members of his own family, della Robbia produced a number of decorative reliefs and altarpieces until the end of his life.