Visitation

Abstract

This lunette, now in the Museo Bandini in Fiesole, was made for the San Michele in Palchetto, in Florence (Santa Elisabetta). The work is glazed terracotta, except for Mary's red dress, which is cold painted, because the Della Robbia's never found a usable red glaze. Giovanni, instead of imitating Luca della Robbia's Visitation in Pistoia, closely followed a painting made for the same church a little over a decade earlier, Mariotto Albertinelli's Visitation, now in the Uffizi. The poses with their intertwined arms, the colors of the clothing, even the faces of both figures are mimicked in this high relief work, but Mary's face is turned outward, away from Elizabeth, instead addressing the viewer below, and the whole tone of the piece, with its bright shining colors and yellow streaked sky, is more vibrant than Mariotto's sfumato. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.