Two Adoring Angels

myminifactory

These terracotta angels were originally attributed to Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1529), but recent studies by Pope-Hennessy into Andrea della Robbia's workshop productions have revealed they are late products of his workshop. They are components of a lunette - a type established by Andrea possibly in the last quarter of the 15th century, where they might have flanked a seated group of the Virgin and Child, a saint, or God the Father blessing from above a doorway. The angels were heavily worked on in damp clay between moulding and firing, each one handled uniquely, with the left-hand angel treated more roughly and the right-hand angel more sensitively. Neither demonstrates the qualities expected in an Andrea work, both being products of varying assistants' hands. In their handling, particularly in hair treatment, they match two standing angels by assistants flanking a tabernacle in Andrea's late altarpiece at S.S. Apostoli, Florence (1512). These angels stand out for their class due to being only partially glazed and also exceptional for size, measuring 15-20 cm taller than even large angels of the lunette at Pistoia.