Search
Art & Culture

An Andrea della Robbia Masterpiece Is on View at The Met for the First Time in 70 Years

The monumental Marquand Altarpiece measures ten by seven feet and is comprised of 66 glazed tiles

By Rena Gross
The Assumption of the Virgin (The Marquand Altarpiece), an Andrea Della Robbia Renaissance relief sculpture depicting religious figures, ornate arch and intricate floral designs against a dark background.
Andrea della Robbia The Assumption of the Virgin (The Marquand Altarpiece),. Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Back in 1882, Metropolitan Museum of Art Founding Trustee Henry G. Marquand donated Andrea della Robbia’s 1485 Assumption of the Virgin to the nascent institution. The Met describes the acquisition as its first monumental Italian Renaissance sculpture to enter its collection. Over the decades, the museum developed an impressive assembly of artworks by members of the della Robbia family. And somehow, about 70 years ago, Assumption of the Virgin went into storage and stayed there. The new Met exhibition, “Rediscovering della Robbia at The Met,” brings it back to the public for the first time since before cell phones, the Beatles, and Sputnik.

Renaissance marble della Robbia relief of Madonna and Child with angels above, featuring serene expressions and intricate drapery details.
Andrea della Robbia The Lehman Madonna. Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ceramic sculpture of a woman holding a fruit-filled basket on her head, dressed in period clothing, with a lizard on the base.
Workshop of Giovanni della Robbia Dovizia (Abundance), (ca. 1515–25). Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Religious artwork depicting Virgin Mary praying over baby Jesus, surrounded by angels and lilies against a blue background.
Luca della Robbia Virgin and Child in a niche, (ca. 1460). Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The family of craftsmen is known for producing glazed terracotta sculptures, which they specialized in for over 150 years, coinciding with the Italian High Renaissance. The famous color known as della Robbia blue is the kind of tertiary shade that is instantly memorable but defies single adjectives. It is a deeply saturated, cool, clear, a touch darker than cerulean with the very mildest touch of purple. And it is everywhere in a cultural sense. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois’s description of her deceased husband’s eyes as “della Robbia blue” indicates that her sophistication is no pretense, contrary to Stanley Kowalski’s disparagement of her.

Renaissance relief art of a woman holding a child, framed with blue and gold design elements.
Andrea della Robbia Madonna and Child (Lehman Madonna), (ca. 1470–75). Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ceramic shield with yellow and white stripes framed by a wreath of green leaves, lemons, and assorted fruits.
Della Robbia workshop Heraldic medallion with arms of the Gaetani and Minerbetti families, (After 1493). Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The show also contains planned donations from the collection of Law and Order producer Dick Wolf. Works on view will draw from the Metropolitan’s extensive della Robbia collection, which is the largest and most important collection in the United States. But this exhibition will be the first time in the museum’s 150-year-plus history that a significant selection of the family’s works will be exhibited together in a dedicated gallery.

Renaissance relief by Andrea della Robbia of an angel with wings, holding scales, crafted in white marble against a dark background.
Andrea della Robbia Saint Michael the Archangel. Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Uniting outstanding examples of The Met’s holdings of della Robbia works in an exhibition for the first time, ‘Rediscovering della Robbia’ will revive celebrated signature pieces of Andrea della Robbia from the Museum collection with new conservation and scholarship, inviting visitors to witness the scale, visual impact, and emotional resonance of these distinctive sculptures that marked the transition from early to high Renaissance style,” said Max Hollein, Met CEO and director.

“Rediscovering della Robbia at the Met” is on view through January 17, 2028 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art 5th Avenue.

Tags: