The Ascension
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Authors
Andrea della Robbia
Date
Type
image
Language
Keyword
Ascension , Christ , Apostles , Virgin
Alternative Title
Abstract
This glazed terracotta altarpiece of the Ascension was originally made for the high altar of the Chiesa Maggiore of La Verna. Because this space was under the patronage of the Medici family, it is likely that a member of the Medici commissioned the sculpture from Andrea della Robbia. It was moved to its present location, the Ridolfi Chapel, in 1601. On the basis of style, the altarpiece is dated to c.1490; it is the last of the three altarpieces made by Andrea della Robbia for the main church of La Verna. Upon entering this sacred space, a late fifteenth-century or sixteenth-century visitor would have been confronted with an impressive array of glazed terracotta sculptures, their distinctive medium and blue-and-white bichromy serving both to beautify and unify the church interior. In illustrating Christ's departure from the earth, the Ascension thematically completes the Christological narrative begun in the Annunciation and Incarnation altarpieces at either side. The vertical format highlights the disjuncture between the body of Christ, floating in the clouds, and those of his apostles and mother, who remain firmly grounded in a landscape of mountains and trees. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Ridolfi Chapel, Chiesa Maggiore, La Verna; high altar, Chiesa Maggiore, La Verna
Citation
Allan Marquand, Andrea della Robbia and His Atelier (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1922), 1: 145-46; John Pope-Hennessy, "Thoughts on Andrea della Robbia," Apollo 109 (1979), 176-97; Giancarlo Gentilini, Giancarlo Gentilini, I Della Robbia: La scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento (Florence: Cantini, 1992), I: 217; Giancarlo Gentilini, "The Glazed Sculpture of the Verna Sanctuary," trans. Judith Landry,�FMR English Edition 67 (1994): 83-104;�Stephanie Miller, "Andrea della Robbia and his La Verna Altarpieces: Context and Interpretation" (PhD diss., Indiana University, 2003), 189-206; Claudia Tripodi, "Le relazioni di Firenze col convento della Verna viste attraverso le famiglie committenti dei Della Robbia," in Nicoletta Baldini, ed., Altro monte non ha pi� santo il mondo: Storia, architettura ed arte alla Verna fra il XV ed il XVI secolo (Firenze: Edizioni Studi Francescani, 2014), 149-69; Fiamma Domestici, "Frammenti di latteo cielo: Il ciclo robbiano alvernino," in Nicoletta Baldini, ed., Altro monte non ha pi� santo il mondo: Storia, architettura ed arte alla Verna fra il XV ed il XVI secolo (Firenze: Edizioni Studi Francescani, 2014), 135-48.