Fra Mattia Della Robbia - Saint Joseph - Tuscany, around 1505-1510

FRA MATTIA DELLA ROBBIA (Firenze 1468-1534)
Saint Joseph

Terracotta
Tuscany, around 1505-1510
55 x 40 x 30 cm

Marco della Robbia the Younger (April 6, 1468 in Florence - 1534) dit Fra 'Mattia Della Robbia is an Italian monk and sculptor member of the Italian artist family Della Robbia, one of Andrea's five sons and specialized as father in the technique of terracotta invetriata, polychrome glazed terracotta.

A sculpture of Saint Joseph comparable to this one was made for the Spedale degli Innocenti in Florence, a 15th century building by Brunelleschi.
The subjects made for official commissions were often reiterated for private commissions, eager to compete with the city's most important aristocratic families by offering themselves the works of the most prestigious artists of their time as a means of social distinction.
This sculpture of Saint Joseph was probably part of a complete crib realized by Fra Mattia della Robbia and the workshop and inspired by the famous model still preserved at the Ospedale degli Innocenti.

Bibliography:

- L . Bellosi, Il Museo degli Innocenti a Firenze, Galleria e Musei di Firenze, Electa 1977
- P. Francioni, La Madonna del Presepe nella Pieve di Terranuova e … Agnolo di Polo, Assessorato per la cultura del Comune di Terranuova Bracciolini, 1997, fig. 29, pp. 41
- G.C.Gentilini, La civiltà del cotto, arte della Terracotta nell’area fiorentina dal XV al XX secolo, Impruneta Edizioni Polistampa, maggio ottobre 1980, pp. 96, 97, 98