VERROCCHIO
September 15, 2019 through January 12, 2020
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Andrea del Verrocchio, Putto with a Dolphin, c. 1465/1480, bronze, overall: 73.03 cm (28 3/4 in.) base: 125 cm (49 3/16 in.) Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
Andrea del Verrocchio (c.1435–1488), the innovative artist,
painter, sculptor, and teacher whose pupils included Leonardo da Vinci,
Pietro Perugino, and likely Sandro Botticelli as well.
VERROCCHIO
SCULPTOR
As a sculptor, Verrocchio was the most important figure in Renaissance art between Donatello and Michelangelo, making works of unprecedented technical accomplishment and breathtaking naturalism and beauty.
By the time he was about 30 years old, Verrocchio had emerged as a master of the first rank and the Medici began to entrust him to make the most important bronze sculptures in the city: first, around 1465, a statue of David with the Head of Goliath, made as a kind of complement to or rival of Donatello’s earlier bronze of the same subject.
DAVID WITH THE HEAD OF GOLIATH
Bronze
With its elegant design, tensely graceful movement, and absorbing facial expressions, it may be Verrocchio’s earliest statue in bronze and probably was made for Piero de’ Medici, the father of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
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.
CHRIST AND SAINT THOMAS
Bronze
In 1467 awarding Verrocchio the most prestigious sculpture commission of late-15th century Florence, the bronze group of Christ and Saint Thomas for an outdoor niche on Orsanmichele, the church and grain reserve at the center of Florence. Taking 16 years to complete, the sculpture, upon its unveiling in 1483, was declared to be “the most beautiful work there is”.
LEFT: Andrea del Verrocchio, Christ and Saint Thomas, Orsanmichele, Florence, modern copy in exterior niche.
RIGHT: Detail
LADY WITH FLOWERS
Marble
Andrea del Verrocchio, Lady with Flowers, c.1475/1480, marble, overall: 60 x 48 x 25 cm (23 5/8 x 18 7/8 x 9 13/16 in.) Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Marble
Andrea del Verrocchio and assistant, Alexander the Great, c.1480/1485, Carrara marble, overall: 55.9 x 36.7 x 11 cm (22 x 14 7/16 x 4 3/8 in.) framed: 88.9 x 71.8 x 8.6 cm (35 x 28 1/4 x 3 3/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Therese K. Straus.
SLEEPING YOUTH
Terracotta
DETAIL
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.
MADONNA AND CHILD
Terracotta
Andrea del Verrocchio, Madonna and Child, c.1475, terracotta relief with traces of polychromy and gilding, overall: 86 x 66 cm (33 7/8 x 26 in.) Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.
ANGELS
Terracotta
Andrea del Verrocchio and assistant, Angel (from Pair of Angels), c.1480, terracotta, overall: 36.5 x 32.8 x 5.5 cm (14 3/8 x 12 15/16 x 2 3/16 in.) Musée du Louvre, Départment des Sculptures, Paris
Andrea del Verrocchio and assistant, Angel (from Pair of Angels), c.1480, terracotta, overall: 37 x 34 x 4.5 cm (14 9/16 x 13 3/8 x 1 3/4 in.) Musée du Louvre, Départment des Sculptures, Paris.
GIULIANO de’ MEDICI
Terracotta
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.
BUST OF CHRIST
Terracotta
Andrea del Verrocchio, Bust of Christ, c.1470/1483, polychrome terracotta, overall: 68 x 71.2 x 40.6 cm (26 3/4 x 28 1/16 x 16 in.) Private collection, Photo: Yale University Art Gallery.
MONUMENT OF CARDINAL NICCOLÒ FORTEGUERRI
Sketch Model. Terracotta
DETAIL
Andrea del Verrocchio, Sketch Model for the Monument of Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, 1476, terracotta, overall: 39.4 x 26.7 cm (15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in.) Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
PUTTO POISED ON A GLOBE
Terra cruda
Andrea del Verrocchio, Putto Poised on a Globe, c. 1480, terra cruda (unbaked clay) over iron armature on gilded wood base, overall: 75 x 38.3 x 23 cm (29 1/2 x 15 1/16 x 9 1/16 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection
MADONNA AND CHILD
Plaster
Andrea del Verrocchio, Madonna and Child, c. 1465/1470, plaster with traces of polychromy, overall: 84.4 x 60.5 x 10 cm (33 1/4 x 23 13/16 x 3 15/16 in.) framed: 87.9 x 63.7 x 14 cm (34 5/8 x 25 1/16 x 5 1/2 in.) depth: 10 cm (3 15/16 in.) Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, R.T. Miller Jr. Fund, 1944, Bridgeman Images.
VERROCCHIO
PAINTER
As a painter, he formed a direct link in the central chain of Florentine painting
between his master, Fra Filippo Lippi, and his own pupil, Leonardo da Vinci
MADONNA AND CHILD
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Madonna and Child, c. 1465/1470, tempera, oil, and gold on panel, overall: 75.8 x 54.6 cm (29 13/16 x 21 1/2 in.) framed: 105 x 82 cm (41 5/16 x 32 5/16 in.) Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, bpk Bildagentur / Staatliche Museen, Berlin / Jörg P. Anders./ Art Resource, NY.
DETAILS
SAINT JEROME
Andrea del Verrocchio
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
DETAIL
Verrocchio and pupils
Verrocchio generally took a collaborative approach to painting, employing younger masters to execute his pictures from his designs before coming in at the end to put the finishing touches on the works. Among the artists known or believed to have spent time in this capacity are Leonardo, Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Lorenzo di Credi, and others.
A collaborative approach to painting in a master’s workshop was not new in Renaissance Italy, although Verrocchio seems to have organized this painting production more thoroughly than any other painter before. Verrocchio was highly regarded in his lifetime as a painter, working for the Medici and other discerning patrons, and he was praised by contemporaries as the “spring” from which other painters drank “whatever they have that is good.”
Painting was less his principal focus, and yet he was active and innovative in this field as well. His best-known work is his Baptism of Christ (c. 1472–1474, Gallerie degli Uffizi) made with Leonardo da Vinci, who was still his student and assistant at the time, likely in the early 1470s.
THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci
The Baptism of Christ, circa 1475, Oil on panel, Height: 177 cm (69.6 in.) Width: 151 cm (59.4 in.)
Gallerie degli Uffizi
MADONNA AND CHILD WITH TWO ANGELS
Andrea del Verrocchio and assistants Leonardo da Vinci and Pietro Perugino
Andrea del Verrocchio and assistants (Leonardo da Vinci and Pietro Perugino) Madonna and Child with Two Angels, c. 1470/1474, tempera on panel, overall: 97 x 71 cm (38 3/16 x 27 15/16 in.) framed: 127 x 102 x 9 cm (50 x 40 3/16 x 3 9/16 in.) The National Gallery, London, Bought, 1857.
MADONNA AND CHILD
Attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio or Pietro Perugino
Attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio or Pietro Perugino, Madonna and Child, c. 1470/1472, tempera and gold on poplar wood, overall: 75.6 x 47.9 cm (29 3/4 x 18 7/8 in.) framed: 88.8 x 61 cm (34 15/16 x 24 in.) Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie.
TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL
Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, and assistants
Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, and assistants, Tobias and the Angel, c. 1470, tempera on panel, overall: 84.4 x 66.2 cm (33 1/4 x 26 1/16 in.) framed: 110 x 98 x 15.5 cm (43 5/16 x 38 9/16 x 6 1/8 in.) The National Gallery, London, Bought, 1857.
THE VIRGIN ADORING THE CHRIST CHILD
(“The Ruskin Madonna”)
Andrea del Verrocchio and Domenico Ghirlandaio
Andrea del Verrocchio and Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Virgin Adoring the Christ Child (“The Ruskin Madonna”), c. 1475/1480, tempera and oil on panel transferred to canvas, overall: 106.7 x 76.3 cm (42 x 30 1/16 in.) framed: 141.5 x 110.5 x 10.5 cm (55 11/16 x 43 1/2 x 4 1/8 in.) National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Purchased with the aid of the Art Fund and the Pilgrim Trust, 1975.
MADONNA AND CHILD
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Madonna and Child, c. 1475, tempera on panel transferred to hardboard, painted surface: 70.8 x 48.9 cm (27 7/8 x 19 1/4 in.) overall size: 73 x 50.2 cm (28 3/4 x 19 3/4 in.) framed: 115.6 x 89.2 x 7.6 cm (45 1/2 x 35 1/8 x 3 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection.
MADONNA AND CHILD
Piermatteo d’Amelia
Piermatteo d’ Amelia (in Verrocchio’s workshop?) Madonna and Child, c.1475/1480, tempera on panel (transferred to silk and modern wood board) overall size: 84.7 x 64.6 cm (33 3/8 x 25 7/16 in.) framed: 103.6 x 80.8 x 7.6 cm (40 13/16 x 31 13/16 x 3 in.) Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.
MADONNA AND CHILD WITH A POMEGRANATE
Lorenzo di Credi
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.
VERROCCHIO
DRAFTSMAN
As a draftsman, he was a pivotal figure who explored new media techniques
and functions of drawing and profoundly influenced Leonardo, Raphael, and others
His contributions to the history of drawing are especially clear. Trained as both a goldsmith and painter, he united the drawing techniques of the two practices and made something new. His pen and ink drawings have an unprecedented vivacity and freedom, so much so that both Leonardo and Raphael were deeply influenced by them. His black-chalk and charcoal drawings have a new subtlety in the depiction of light and form; they are perhaps the first images in Italian art that unambiguously display sfumato—a kind of smoky effect in shading, which helps to amplify the apparent three-dimensionality of the forms. Sfumato was to become a fundamental component of Leonardo’s painting and drawing.
CARTOON FOR THE HEAD OF AN ANGEL
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Cartoon for the Head of an Angel, c.1470, black chalk, rubbed, with pen and brown ink, pricked and pounced, brush and brown ink on prepared paper, laid down, overall: 21.1 x 18.1 cm (8 5/16 x 7 1/8 in.) framed: 52.5 x 39.5 x 3 cm (20 11/16 x 15 9/16 x 1 3/16 in.) Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Florence.
HEAD OF A WOMAN WITH BRAIDED HAIR (recto)
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Head of a Woman with Braided Hair (recto); Head of a Woman Leaning on Her Right Hand (verso), late 1470s, recto: black chalk or charcoal, lead white gouache, pen and brown ink, reworked with oil charcoal on cream prepared paper. Verso: charcoal on white paper, overall: 32.4 x 27.3 cm (12 3/4 x 10 3/4 in.) mount: 55.9 x 40.6 cm (22 x 16 in.) framed: 44.7 x 60.3 x 3.7 cm (17 5/8 x 23 3/4 x 1 7/16 in.) On loan from the Trustees of the British Museum, London.
CHILD IN BUST LENGTH, THREE-QUARTER VIEW
Attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio
Attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio, Child in Bust Length, Three-Quarter View, c.1470/1475, metalpoint, brown wash, lead white gouache on beige prepared paper, laid down and framed in pen and brown ink on a sixteenth-century mount unframed: 22.9 x 15.6 cm (9 x 6 1/8 in.) framed: 44.7 x 60 x 2.5 cm (17 5/8 x 23 5/8 x 1 in.) The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.
Verrocchio’s highly personal technique and style of execution. In his drawing exemplify the relationship between sculpture and painting and depict his original and experimental combinations of different media. Several preparatory drawings for his sculptures and paintings are on view in the exhibition, including studies of nudes, animals, drapery, and funerary monuments, as well as one of his earliest surviving drawings —Study of the Madonna Adoring the Child (c. 1470).
PROJECT FOR A FUNERARY MONUMENT
(Doge Andrea Vendramin Tomb)
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Project for a Funerary Monument (Doge Andrea Vendramin Tomb), 1472/1488, leadpoint, partly reworked with pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, and some ruling in leadpoint, glued to secondary paper support, overall: 27.2 x 17.4 cm (10 11/16 x 6 7/8 in.) framed: 57.1 x 41.9 x 3 cm (22 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 1 3/16 in.) Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
MEASURED DRAWING OF A HORSE FACING LEFT
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Measured Drawing of a Horse Facing Left, c.1481/1483, traces of black chalk, pen and dark brown ink, on white paper, overall: 24.9 x 29.7 cm (9 13/16 x 11 11/16 in.) Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1917.
A GROTESQUE DANCER
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, A Grotesque Dancer, c.1475/1480, metalpoint partially reworked with brown wash and darker metalpoint on cream prepared paper, laid down, overall: 21.7 x 18.4 cm (8 9/16 x 7 1/4 in.) framed: 52.5 x 39.5 x 3 cm (20 11/16 x 15 9/16 x 1 3/16 in.) Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Florence.
THREE NUDE OLD MEN DRINKING
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio, Three Nude Old Men Drinking, c.1470/1480, metalpoint, partially reworked with a darker metalpoint on cream prepared paper, laid down, overall: 24 x 18.4 cm (9 7/16 x 7 1/4 in.) framed: 52.5 x 39.5 x 3 cm (20 11/16 x 15 9/16 x 1 3/16 in.) Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Florence.
A DRAPERY STUDY WITH THE CHRIST CHILD
STANDING ON MADONNA’S LEFT KNEE
Lorenzo de Credi
Lorenzo di Credi, A Drapery Study with the Christ Child Standing on the Madonna’s Left Knee, c.1475/1480, metalpoint, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, white gouache on pale cream/ pink prepared paper framed: 45.4 x 38.74 cm (17 7/8 x 15 1/4 in.) unframed: 26.6 x 19.8 cm (10 1/2 x 7 13/16 in.) Private collection.
MADONNA WITH CHILD ON HER LAP
Andrea del Verrocchio or possibly Leonardo da Vinci
Andrea del Verrocchio or possibly Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna with Child on her lap, 1475–1478, Black chalk on cream prepared paper, unframed: 22.2 x 15.1 cm (8 3/4 x 5 15/16 in.) framed: 52.5 x 39.5 x 3 cm (20 11/16 x 15 9/16 x 1 3/16 in.) Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Florence
VERROCCHIO
TEACHER
As a teacher, he headed a studio that became a kind of laboratory for experimentation and innovation and helped lead to the creation of the High Renaissance in the early 16th century. It is no accident that of the founders of the High Renaissance—Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael—one was the pupil of Verrocchio and the other two were trained by pupils of Verrocchio.
LEONARDO DA VINCI
Ginebra de’ Benci
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.
SANDRO BOTTICELLI
Madonna and Child
Sandro Botticelli, Madonna and Child, c.1470, tempera on panel, overall: 74.5 x 54.5 cm (29 5/16 x 21 7/16 in.)framed: 113.7 x 94.9 x 8.6 cm (44 3/4 x 37 3/8 x 3 3/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter
of Renaissance Florence
Edited by Andrew Butterfield, with contributions by John K. Delaney, Charles Dempsey, Gretchen A. Hirschauer, Alison Luchs, Lorenza Melli, Dylan Smith, and Elizabeth Walmsley.
Accompanying the National Gallery of Art exhibition Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence, this catalogs offers a comprehensive new survey of the work of this most influential Florentine artist and teacher.
Hardcover
9.25 x 11.75 inches
384 pages, 279 color illustrations
Published: 2019
ISBN-10: 0691183368
ISBN13: 978-0691183367
$ 60
STATEMENTS
Andrew Butterfield
Exhibition curator and an internationally recognized expert on the artist.
“Verrocchio was a visionary,” “He had a restless imagination and a relentless drive to experiment and improve on what he or anyone else had done before. But he was also like the maestro of an orchestra who could bring together many talents and draw forth the best from them. This was one of his secrets as a teacher.”
Kaywin Feldman
Director, National Gallery of Art
“A ‘Renaissance man’ in every way, Andrea del Verrocchio was a pioneering, versatile artist whose talents stood out for their brilliance,”
“We are grateful to the institutions and private collectors, as well as to the Bank of America and to the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund, without whom this exhibition would not be possible.”
EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art in collaboration with the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, where a different version of the show is on view from March 9–July 14, 2019.
SPONSORS
Bank of America Corporation is the proud lead sponsor of the exhibition.
Generous support has been kindly provided by the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
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