The year during which the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci is honored all over the world the seems to have revived a general interest for the Italian renaissance. In New York, in particular, there is a unique opportunity to visit two exceptional exhibitions, both opened until January 12th, 2020.
The Frick Collection presents the first-ever exhibition on the Florentine sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni (ca. 1440–1491), a renowned student of Donatello, a teacher of Michelangelo, and a great favorite of Lorenzo “il Magnifico” de’ Medici, his principal patron. More than twenty statues, reliefs, medals, and statuettes — constituting nearly his entire extant oeuvre — are on view exclusively at the Frick, which houses the only sculptural figure by Bertoldo outside of Europe. The exhibition highlights the ingenuity of the artist’s designs across media, including bronze, wood, and terracotta, and provides the first chance to fully explore longstanding questions of attribution, function, groupings, and intended display. ‘Bertoldo di Giovanni: The Renaissance of Sculpture in Medici Florence’ brings into focus the sculptor’s unique position at the heart of the artistic and political landscape in fifteenth-century Italy.
At the same time, the National Gallery of Art presents ‘Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence‘, the first-ever monographic exhibition in the United States on Andrea del Verrocchio (ca. 1435–1488), the innovative artist, painter, sculptor, and teacher whose pupils included Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino, and likely Sandro Botticelli as well. The exhibition examines the wealth and breadth of Verrocchio’s extraordinary artistry by bringing together some 50 of his masterpieces in painting, sculpture, and drawing that allow viewers to appreciate how his work in each art form stimulated creativity in the others.
GALLERY- Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence
Andrea del Verrocchio Sleeping Youth, c. 1470–1480 terracotta with traces of polychromy overall: 36 x 67 x 25 cm (14 3/16 x 26 3/8 x 9 13/16 in.) Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst bpk Bildagentur / Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen / Antje Voigt / Art Resource, NY
Andrea del Verrocchio Saint Jerome, c. 1465 tempera on paper glued to panel overall: 40.5 x 26 cm (15 15/16 x 10 1/4 in.) framed: 60.5 x 47 x 7 cm (23 13/16 x 18 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.) Gallerie degli Uffizi, Palazzo Piti, Florence
Leonardo da Vinci Ginevra de’ Benci [obverse], c. 1474/1478 oil on panel overall (original panel only): 38.1 x 37 cm (15 x 14 9/16 in.) overall (thickness of original panel): 1.1 cm (7/16 in.) overall (with addition at bottom edge): 42.7 x 37 cm (16 13/16 x 14 9/16 in.) overall (thickness of addition at bottom edge): 1.9 cm (3/4 in.) framed: 59.7 x 57.8 x 3.8 cm (23 1/2 x 22 3/4 x 1 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Andrea del Verrocchio David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1465 bronze with traces of gilding overall: 120 cm (47 1/4 in.) Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Lorenzo di Credi Madonna and Child with a Pomegranate, c. 1475/1480 oil on panel overall: 16.5 x 13.4 cm (6 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.) framed: 44.1 x 24.5 x 3.8 cm (17 3/8 x 9 5/8 x 1 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection
Andrea del Verrocchio Giuliano de’ Medici, c. 1475/1478 terracotta with traces of polychromy overall: 61 x 66 x 28.3 cm (24 x 26 x 11 1/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection
