Virgin and Child by the Workshop of Andrea della Robbia in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, August 2009

Virgin and Child

Workshop of Andrea Della Robbia, Italian (active Florence), 1435 - 1525

Geography: Made in Italy, Europe

Date: c. 1500

Medium: Glazed earthenware

Dimensions: 22 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 5 5/8 inches (57.8 x 37.5 x 14.3 cm) Framed: 32 7/8 x 19 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches (83.5 x 50.5 x 14.6 cm)

Curatorial Department: European Decorative Arts and Sculpture

Object Location: Gallery 251, European Art 1500-1850, second floor

Accession Number: 1956-45-6

Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham, 1956

Label:

Images of the Virgin and Child could be found in many homes in fifteenth-century Florence. The intimate and tender portrayal of mother and infant as if seen through a window with a ledge was popularized in both painting and sculpture, thought to help children learn about religion.

The della Robbia family became famous for inventing the technique of making molded and glazed ceramic sculptures. These could be replicated in some numbers, perhaps making them affordable for relatively modest households.

Text from: www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/56615.html?mulR=1472228307|1