Autour de quelques exemples de reliefs de Donatello sur le thème de la Vierge et l’Enfant

Deux reliefs de Vierge et l’Enfant en terre cuite de Donatello des collections du Louvre ont fait l’objet d’études et de restaurations importantes. Cet essai tente de replacer ces œuvres au sein du travail de l’artiste, en fonction des apports sur les terres et sur les polychromies de ces différentes interventions.Two of Donatello’s terracotta reliefs depicting the Madonna and Child, now in the Louvre, have been studied in depth and undergone major restoration. Based on what has been learnt from these investigations about the clay and polychromy, this essay attempts to situate the sculptures in the artist’s working life

Introduction. Terres cuites de la Renaissance : matière et couleur

La querelle qui oppose, à la Renaissance, peintres et sculpteurs, dans la quête d’une imitation toujours plus fine de la nature, et qu’on nomme Paragone, s’alimente en particulier de considérations sur le volume et la couleur, au point que les plus grands artistes de ce temps ont travaillé dans les deux arts. Léonard de Vinci, Michel-Ange, Antonio Pollaiolo et bien d’autres créent ainsi des chefs-d’œuvre, soit avec le ciseau et la gradine, soit avec le pinceau et la palette. Plus rares sont c..

Terres célèbres, terres révélées et terres énigmatiques : terres et ateliers dans l’Italie de la Renaissance

À partir d’un corpus d’environ soixante œuvres en terre cuite polychromée de la Renaissance italienne conservées dans les collections françaises, l’analyse chimique des pâtes argileuses a permis d’établir une première base de données. Elle comporte cinq groupes correspondant à des régions de production différentes : deux pour la Toscane, très bien caractérisés, les trois autres, plus hypothétiques, pour l’Italie du Nord.Based on a body of about 60 Italian Renaissance polychrome-decorated terracottas now in French collections, the chemical analysis of the clays enabled us to draw up an initial databank. It is comprised of five groups corresponding to the different areas of production: two highly characteristic regions in Tuscany, and three rather more hypothetical regions in northern Italy

Du nouveau sur Della Robbia à Marseille : enquête historique et scientifique

La rénovation du musée d’Histoire de Marseille a permis l’étude historique et scientifique de fragments de céramique glaçurée et confirmé leur attribution ancienne aux Della Robbia. Elle a ouvert la piste de leur provenance, vraisemblablement une chapelle florentine dans l’église de l’Observance. L’iconographie est plus délicate à définir et leur présentation future s’en ressent.The renovation of the History Museum in Marseille made it possible to carry out a historical and scientific study of fragments of glazed ceramics and confirm their earlier attribution to the Della Robbias. Their provenance was traced in all likelihood to a Florentine chapel in the church of the Observance. Defining the iconography is a more delicate matter, and it shows in the future display of the fragments

Visite de l'exposition Desiderio da Settignano, sculpteur de la Renaissance florentine

Bormand Marc. Visite de l'exposition Desiderio da Settignano, sculpteur de la Renaissance florentine. In: Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France, 2006, 2012. p. 303

Visite de l'exposition Desiderio da Settignano, sculpteur de la Renaissance florentine

Bormand Marc. Visite de l'exposition Desiderio da Settignano, sculpteur de la Renaissance florentine. In: Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France, 2006, 2012. p. 303

Two of a Kind: Shining New Light on Bronze Spiritelli Attributed to Donatello

International audienceTwo Spiritelli attributed to Donatello have been extensively studied from a technical point of view, including X-radiography, alloy analysis, characterization of the core, and visual observations on the interior and exterior of the statues. The results of this technical study reveal how the two statues were cast and document the artist’s technical choices. These new insights offer additional information to address questions regarding their attribution, production context, and conservation history. First, the technical study confirmed that the statues were made by the same workshop and argues against the prior proposal of different attributions for the two figures. Second, the results strongly suggest that the statues have never been separated since they were taken off Luca Della Robbia’s Cantoria. Finally, study of the two Spiritelli offers further evidence of the heterogeneity and ingeniousness of Donatellos bronze artistic production, and contributes to the ongoing debate whether the artist himself was involved in the technical aspects of his sculpture

Microstructure imaging of Florentine stuccoes through X-ray tomography: A new insight on ancient plaster-making techniques

International audienceGypsum-based plasters or stuccoes, in spite of their importance and diffusion, received little attention in cultural heritage materials studies. This work introduces a new, non-destructive methodology, using micro-tomography to measure the water/plaster ratio and the morphology of the hemihydrate powder used to make plasters on < 1 mm3 samples. This methodology give insight in both the raw material (and ultimately provenance) and the technique used to make plaster. The methodology was tested first on mock-up samples of known composition, then in a case study on 13 low-relief cast plaster sculptures from 15th century Florentine artists. Preliminary conclusions on this limited corpus show relative uniformity across most reliefs in terms of raw materials and techniques. The casts of one model (Nativity, attributed to Donatello and B. Bellano) were made with a different raw material, in line with prior geochemical analyses; these results support the previous attribution to a North Italian rather than Florentine origin. The casts of a second model (Virgin and Child, type of Saint Petersburg, attributed to Antonio Rossellino) were prepared with a different technique. This surprising result was not expected from Art History or previous studies