Virgin and child with lilies
Luca della Robbia
(Italian, Florence, 1399 or 1400–1482)
about 1460–70
Object PlaceItaly
Medium/TechniqueGlazed terracotta
DimensionsOverall: 48 x 38cm (18 7/8 x 14 15/16in.)
Credit LineGift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession number17.1476
On View
On viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
Luca della Robbia was famous for the invention and perfection of glazed terra cotta sculpture. This technique allowed the sculptor to model in the inexpensive medium of clay. Firing in a kiln imparted durability to the clay and additional firing with pigmented tin glazes achieved a lasting brilliance and purity of color. The della Robbia family workshop produced many reliefs representing the Virgin and Child: this one shows Mary as the Madonna of Humility, with the Christ Child reaching out for lilies, a symbol of the Virgin's purity.
ProvenanceQuincy Adams Shaw (b. 1825 - d. 1908), Boston; 1917, gift of Quincy Adams Shaw, through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton, to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 29, 1917)
