Lamentation over the Dead Christ
sculptor
Giovanni della Robbia
(Florence, 1469 - 1529-1530)
Dateabout 1515
Place MadeFlorence, Tuscany, Italy, Europe
MediumGlazed and polychromed terracotta
Dimensions250 x 160 cm (98 7/16 x 63 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS27w61
eMuseum ID726147
EmbARK ObjectID12401
TMS Source ID1526
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe Della Robbia family was one of the most successful artistic dynasties in Renaissance Florence. Over more than a century, Luca, his nephew Andrea and grand-nephew Giovanni supplied a flourishing market for terracotta sculpture. Thanks to an innovative glazing technique, their reliefs offered a durable and popular alternative to painting on panel or in fresco. Modular construction helped to drive the success of the family brand. This Lamentation consists of 36 pieces. Fired separately and assembled on-site, Della Robbia sculpture suited distant or difficult-to-access location. The original destination of this example is unknown.
BibliographyNotesCatalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 23. (as Luca della Robbia)
Allan Marquand. Andrea della Robbia and his Atelier (Princeton, 1912), pp. 119-121, fig. 48. (as Giovanni della Robbia and an assistant)
Paul Schubring. Italienische Plastik des Quattrocento (Berlin, 1919), p. 101.
Allan Marquand. Giovanni Della Robbia (Princeton, 1920), pp. 73-75, no. 72, fig. 37. (the center as by Giovanni della Robbia; the framework as by an assistant)
Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple MacLagan. Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance: the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures for the Years 1927-1928 (Cambridge, 1935), p. 156.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 237. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, about 1520-1530)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 36 (5 May 1963), p. 2. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, early 16th century; the script as Roman)
Clara Strauss. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 2 (8 Sep. 1963), p. 2. (as Giovanni della Robbia)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 22 (26 Jan. 1964), p. 2. (excerpting Eric MacLagan, p. 156)
John Pope-Hennessy et al. Catalogue of Italian sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum I (London, 1964), p. 239.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 119-20, no. 148. (as Giovanni della Robbia and workshop, after 1514)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 160-61, ill. 161.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 209-13.
Giancarlo Gentilini. I Della Robbia: la scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento (Florence, 1992), p. 321. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, perhaps the work of his brother Marco)
Hilliard Goldfarb. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Companion Guide and History (Boston, 1995), pp. 129-30, ill. (as Giovanni della Robbia, about 1515-1520)
Marietta Cambareri. "Meaning and Materials" in Marietta Cambareri et al. Della Robbia: Sculpting with Color in Renaissance Florence. Exh. cat. (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2016), pp. 42, 55-57, 163, fig. 33.
Allan Marquand. Andrea della Robbia and his Atelier (Princeton, 1912), pp. 119-121, fig. 48. (as Giovanni della Robbia and an assistant)
Paul Schubring. Italienische Plastik des Quattrocento (Berlin, 1919), p. 101.
Allan Marquand. Giovanni Della Robbia (Princeton, 1920), pp. 73-75, no. 72, fig. 37. (the center as by Giovanni della Robbia; the framework as by an assistant)
Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple MacLagan. Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance: the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures for the Years 1927-1928 (Cambridge, 1935), p. 156.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 237. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, about 1520-1530)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 36 (5 May 1963), p. 2. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, early 16th century; the script as Roman)
Clara Strauss. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 2 (8 Sep. 1963), p. 2. (as Giovanni della Robbia)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 22 (26 Jan. 1964), p. 2. (excerpting Eric MacLagan, p. 156)
John Pope-Hennessy et al. Catalogue of Italian sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum I (London, 1964), p. 239.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 119-20, no. 148. (as Giovanni della Robbia and workshop, after 1514)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 160-61, ill. 161.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 209-13.
Giancarlo Gentilini. I Della Robbia: la scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento (Florence, 1992), p. 321. (as workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, perhaps the work of his brother Marco)
Hilliard Goldfarb. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Companion Guide and History (Boston, 1995), pp. 129-30, ill. (as Giovanni della Robbia, about 1515-1520)
Marietta Cambareri. "Meaning and Materials" in Marietta Cambareri et al. Della Robbia: Sculpting with Color in Renaissance Florence. Exh. cat. (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2016), pp. 42, 55-57, 163, fig. 33.
MarksNotesInscribed (upper cross): I*N*R*I [Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum] (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).
Inscribed (base tablet): * O VOS*OMNES QVI*TRANSITIS*PER VIAM*ATENDTE / ET*VIDETE*SI EST*DOLOR*SIMILIS*SICVT DOLOR MEVS (Oh all ye that pass by, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, Lamentations 1:12)
Inscribed (base tablet): * O VOS*OMNES QVI*TRANSITIS*PER VIAM*ATENDTE / ET*VIDETE*SI EST*DOLOR*SIMILIS*SICVT DOLOR MEVS (Oh all ye that pass by, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, Lamentations 1:12)
ProvenanceNotesSaid to be from the Talleyrand Collection, Paris.
Purchased by the rector and founder of the American Protestant Church of "Saint Paul within the Walls," Rome Rev. Dr. Robert Jenkins Nevin (1839-1906) in Florence after 1870 with the intent to install it in a chapel within the church.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the collection of Rev. Dr. Robert Jenkins Nevin, Rome for 33,000 lire on 29 May 1899, through the art historian and archaeologist Richard Norton (1872-1918) and his agent Andrea Resse, against the advice of her advisor the American art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959).
Purchased by the rector and founder of the American Protestant Church of "Saint Paul within the Walls," Rome Rev. Dr. Robert Jenkins Nevin (1839-1906) in Florence after 1870 with the intent to install it in a chapel within the church.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the collection of Rev. Dr. Robert Jenkins Nevin, Rome for 33,000 lire on 29 May 1899, through the art historian and archaeologist Richard Norton (1872-1918) and his agent Andrea Resse, against the advice of her advisor the American art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959).
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
1499
Object/Provenance
