Andrea della Robbia

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

Nephew, pupil, assistant, and sharer of Luca's secrets, b. at Florence, 1431; d. 1528. It is often difficult to distinguish between his works and Luca's. His, undoubtedly, are the medallions of infants for the Foundling Hospital, Florence, and the noble Annunciation over the inner entrance; the Meeting of S. Francis and S. Dominic in the loggia of S. Paolo; the charming Madonna of the Architects, the Virgin adoring the Divine Child in the Crib and other pieces in the Bargello; the fine St. Francis at Assisi; the Madonna della Quercia at Viterbo; the high altar (marble) of S. Maria delle Grazie at Arezzo; the rich and variegated decorations of the vaulted ceiling, porch of Pistoia Cathedral, and many other works.

Andrea had several sons, of whom Giovanni Girolamo, Luca the Younger, and Ambrogio are the best known. Giovanni executed the famous reliefs for the Ospendale del Ceppo, Pistoia; and Girolamo worked much in France, where he died. The Della Robbia school gradually lost power and inspiration, the later works being often overcrowded with figures and full of conflicting colour.

See bibl. Of ROBBIA, LUCA DI SIMONE DELLA.

M.L. HANDLEY