Sarnecka Zuzanna, Dziki Agnieszka (eds.) The Materiality of Terracotta Sculpture in Early Modern Europe

Routledge, 2023. — 285 p. — (Routledge Research in Art History). — ISBN 978-1-032-35570-2.Through meticulously researched case studies, this book explores the materiality of terracotta sculpture in early modern Europe.Chapters present a broad geographical perspective showcasing examples of modelling, firing, painting, and gilding of clay in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. The volume considers known artworks by celebrated artists, such as Luca della Robbia, Andrea del Verrocchio, Filipe Hodart, or Hans Reichle, in parallel with several lesser-studied terracotta sculptures and tin-glazed earthenware made by anonymous artisans. This book challenges arbitrary distinctions into the fine art and the applied arts, that obscured the image of artistic production in the early modern world. The centrality of clay in the creative processes of artists working with two- and three-dimensional artefacts comes to the fore. The role of terracotta figures in religious practices, as well as processes of material substitutions or mimesis, confirm the medium’s significance for European visual and material culture in general.This book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Renaissance studies, and material culture.Introduction Materiality, Scale, and Status of Early Modern Terracotta
Material Migrations
Materiality as an Incentive to Stylistic Innovation in Earthenware from Bergen op Zoom (15th-16th century)
Making a Virtue out of a Necessity: Lorenzo Mercadante’s Use of Terracotta in Seville Cathedral
Episodes of the Arts of Fire in Portugal during the Renaissance
Terracotta and Design
Hans Reichle’s Contribution to the Practice of Terracotta Sculpture in Tyrol
Luca della Robbia’s Labours in Terracotta
Clay Models in Verrocchio’s Workshop
The Primacy of Terracotta. Sculptures for Painting in Sixteenth-Century Renaissance Florence
Mimetic Ventures
Glazed Ornament between Architecture and Altarpieces: Luca and Andrea della Robbia in Impruneta and Pescia
The Transformation of Della Robbia Garland Frames: From Luca through Giovanni’s Antinori Resurrection
Face, Surface, Interface: Some Observations on Polychrome Florentine Terracotta Busts
Antonio Begarelli and Small-Scale Terracotta Sculpture
Contexts and Values
Della Robbia Sculptures for Florentine Renaissance Convents
"Ut firmetur quod formatum est"Augustinian Terracottas, and a Note on Two Sculptures from the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts
The Papal Clay: Firing Terracotta Sculptures in Sixteenth-Century Rome
Exceeding Expectations: Antonio Begarelli, His Female Patrons, and the Misunderstood Materialities of White Terracotta
Conversations on the Terracotta Sculpture in the Renaissance: Recollections, Reflections and Proposals