Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces from Florence Cathedral

Anyone who is a devotee of Donatello or an aficionado of early Renaissance sculpture in general should make every effort to see this excellent exhibition at the Museum of Biblical History in New York (from February to June 2015). It is a unique opportunity to see some of the sculpture that was created in the first half of the fifteenth century as decoration for the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, including nine pieces by Donatello himself, along with pieces by Giovanni D’Ambrogio, Nanni di Banco, Luca della Robbia and others. The architectural models of the Cathedral’s dome and lantern by Filippo Brunelleschi, their designer, are also featured. None of these sculptures has ever been seen in the U.S. before; indeed, most of them have never left Italy, and it is unlikely that they ever will again. They are currently in New York only because the Cathedral Museum, where they are permanently housed—among the world’s largest collections of monumental Florentine sculpture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance—is temporarily closed owing to an ambitious expansion that will greatly increase the available exhibition space. One understands why great space is required to display these objects at their best: some of them are larger than life-size, and most of them were created to be placed on the Cathedral’s exterior or on its bell tower at a considerable height above the viewer. The installation in New York is thus a bit crowded, but the curators have gone to great lengths to overcome any feeling of cramping by placing the statues on bases higher than usual (to suggest their elevation when they were on site), by separating sections with a series of translucent curtains, and by providing exemplary lighting.Those unable to see the exhibition in person can take comfort in the knowledge that the catalogue is superb. It has been edited by the exhibition’s curator, the Yale-trained art historian Msgr. Timothy Verdon, who is both the Canon of the Cathedral and the director of its museum (and who also curated and edited the catalogue of a concurrent exhibition, at the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., “Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea”—see the review on this website). Dr. Verdon provides a brief but comprehensive overview of the construction of the Cathedral complex from its initiation in 1059 to its final decoration over half a millennium later. His general introduction to the works on exhibit follows their arrangement in the catalogue and makes for a very clear exposition, especially since the catalog illustrations are reproduced in smaller format in the body of the text, which eliminates the need to flip back and forth between essay and catalogue. The Harvard researcher Daniel Zolli contributes a thorough and impressively informed examination of Donatello’s commissions for the work, and Amy Bloch, a professor of art history at SUNY Albany, writes a fine essay on Lorenzo Ghiberti, examining not only his contributions from the early workshop to the famous “Gates of Paradise” on the Baptistery, but also the way his themes and aesthetic were profoundly influenced by his intimate acquaintance with the Florentine humanists, whose learned pursuits are always at the background of the artistic endeavors. These essays are illuminating and informative and very well written. They and the catalogue section are accompanied by some seventy-five finely chosen comparison illustrations, many of them full-page. All twenty-three of the catalogue items are reproduced full-page, and each is discussed in a two- or three-page signed and well annotated entry by one of the contributors. These are also all clearly written and accessible to the general reader, although they can be somewhat technical at times, and some of the specialized terminology used is esoteric, e.g. “impost,” “archivolt,” “trabeation,” etc., so it would be convenient to have a little architectural dictionary at hand while reading, or at least easy Internet access. The final text is a short exposition by Fr. Verdon of what the new museum space will look like, complete with several architect’s renditions. (One spectacular feature of the new facility will be the space to present a scale reconstruction of the medieval façade of the Cathedral, which was dismantled in 1586 but is known from a contemporary drawing, opposite which will be a hundred-foot-long wall with the three bronze doors of the Baptistery and their cinquecento statuary groups.) In addition to the catalogue reproductions and the companion illustrations, there are more than forty-five full pages of blown up details; this is a more than generously illustrated catalogue, with hardly a page without some image of one sort or another. A previous reviewer has decried the black background on which the statuary has been photographed, claiming that this “abstracts” the objects, robs them of any sense of spatial character, and makes them look like images in a bird book. I am not sure what that actually means, although I must confess that I have far more experience with the photographic reproduction of paintings than of sculpture. It is apparent that some kind of neutral, in fact artificial, background is required for objects that have long since been removed from their original locations and displayed in a museum; they have indeed been “abstracted” from their original spatial environment—but perhaps that is not what the reviewer meant. In any case, I personally have no objection to the black background; I have not felt that the sculptures have been disadvantaged or that I myself have been visually deprived in any way because of it. The book concludes with a short but focussed selected bibliography and a good comprehensive index. Exhibitions of sculpture can be larger, but hardly much better, and this is an outstanding catalogue (and Amazon’s price must make it one of the best art book bargains of the season). Very highly recommended.

I just wanted to add my vote to those of the others who really enjoyed this book. I thought the writing and scholarship were excellent and very accessible. The photos were extensive and well done. I especially enjoyed the more than 40 illustration-rich pages dealing with both sets of Ghiberti's bronze baptistery doors with a discussion of the restoration of the first set. So while the presentation of Donatello's work is delightful and worth the purchase, be aware that the section on Ghiberti is a great pleasure as well. The short chapter at the end on the new Museo dell'Opera del Duomo made me eager to revisit what was already one of my favorite museums.

For students of Renaissance sculpture an exhibition like this one from the Opera del Duomo in Florence is an exciting event; it's an opportunity to view familiar works anew, and to re-evaluate ancillary objects which merit further scholarship. The catalog of such a show is not only a record of the event, but an opportunity for these new insights to become a part of the body of knowledge shared by students, researchers, and the public. It should also be supplied with new and carefully crafted photographs that offer continuing visual access to the works they reproduce; and this catalog is by no means lacking in these. But here a serious blunder lifts a stark and ugly head: most of the photographs have been silhouetted against a black background, a deplorable design practice that robs the object of any sense of spatial character and abstracts it like an illustration in a birdwatching handbook. Everyone in publishing will tell you that it's when the project gets to the book designers that things start flying off the rails. Designers must always be on a short leash; they are notorious for wanting to assert their own 'artistic' stamp on the work and will blithely sacrifice the object, which they should serve first and foremost, to their own exalted (in their own minds) vision. But in the end it is the fault of the editors and publishers of the book who bear responsibility for permitting such a benighted choice that constitutes such a disappointing flaw in what should be a glorious component of such an expensive and momentous project. The catalog is not an abject failure; the essays are penetrating and well written, the subjects (the new museum and its concept, as well as the art itself) are timely, and the photography is admirable; but this blindly stupid practice of 'razor-blading' images must be put to an end.

Excellent book that is easily read with multiple images (including art not in exhibit) of art exhibited from this most important period in western art and history.

Like the exhibit at New York's Museum of Biblical Art, it's beautifully thought out and impressively rendered with interesting and insightful descriptions. I could spend all day with this gorgeous book.

Has great and detailed images of all of the works mentioned, great resource for images and information!