id:			102553
accession number:	1921.1180.d
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.1180.d
updated:		2023-03-20 10:12:00.970000

Fragment, c. 1900–1910. Benedetto Buglioni (Italian, 1461–1521). Glazed terracotta; overall: 198.1 x 165.1 cm (78 x 65 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1921.1180.d

title:				Fragment
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1900–1910
creation date earliest:		1895
creation date latest:		1915
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of J. H. Wade
copyright:			

---

culture:	Italy, Florence, 16th century
technique:	glazed terracotta
department:	European Painting and Sculpture
collection:	Sculpture
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

---

CREATORS

* Benedetto Buglioni (Italian, 1461–1521)  - artist

---

measurements: Overall: 198.1 x 165.1 cm (78 x 65 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

---

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

---

LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

---

PROVENANCE

	Raoul Heilbronner, died 1941 (Paris, France), by 1911 - 1914;
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Confiscated by the French government, 1914;
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Sold, Galerie George Petit, Paris, June 22-23, 1921, lot 144, to P. W. French & Co, New York, to Jeptha Homer Wade;
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Jeptha Homer Wade, 1857-1926, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1921.
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


---

fun fact:


digital description:
The Madonna sits upon a throne with the Christ Child standing on her knee.  He is steadied by his mother, turning delicately to grasp the Virgin's robe for support.  On the left is St. Francis, identified by his stigmata.  On the right, St. Anthony Abbot is identified by his monk's robe and T-shaped walking stick.  The brown robes of the saints, the purple of the Virgin's tunic (a shade characteristic of the artist), and the flesh tones of the figures contrast strongly against the bright blue background.  In the semicircular sky behind the figures, three winged cherub heads emerge, representing a host of angels.  

The inclusion of St. Francis in this altarpiece honors the saint, suggesting that the altarpiece may have been originally built into the wall of a Franciscan institution in Tuscany.  Two shields bearing the Borgherini family crest appear in the lower portion of the altarpiece's border, further suggesting that the chapel for which this altarpiece was made was likely owned or endowed by the family.  

Glazed terracotta is both durable and decorative and the gleaming white of this piece would have stood out in the darkness of a church.  The medium was made popular by Renaissance artist Luca della Robbia and came into fashion as a substitute for expensive carved marble.  A rounded arch frame embellished with fruit and flower garlands as well as egg-and-dart and cord moldings accompanied the work when it was acquired, but was later determined not to be original and removed.  Buglioni's work bears the influence of the della Robbias, particularly in the simple color scheme.  Buglioni likely worked in the studio of Luca's nephew, Andrea, where he would have learned the technique of glazing terracotta.

wall description:
Ongoing research has brought significant new information to light in 2012. The saint at right had long been considered Saint Anthony Abbot, but the distinctive staff and crucifix identify him as Giovanni Gualberto (995?–1073), founder of the Vallumbrosians, a strict Roman Catholic religious order. Although the original location of this altarpiece is not yet known, it likely stood outdoors. The glazed clay could withstand climate changes far better than a painting and the colors do not fade in the sun. Newly discovered documents prove that in 1749 this work was in a chapel open to the elements in the hill town of Ponte agli Stolli, outside of Florence, near sites associated with Vallumbrosian monks.
---

RELATED WORKS

---

CITATIONS

---

IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.1180.d/1921.1180.d_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.1180.d/1921.1180.d_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.1180.d/1921.1180.d_full.tif