Ten Exceptional Works on View from October 20 – November 11, 2011 at Moretti Fine Art, 24 East 80th Street, New York
New York: In their third collaborative exhibition, Andrew Butterfield of Andrew Butterfield Fine Arts and Fabrizio Moretti of Moretti Fine Art, will stage Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture on Thursday, October 20 through Friday, November 11, 2011 at Moretti Fine Art, 24 East 80th Street in New York.
The exhibition centers around three significant discoveries of the past year. A Pair of Monumental Terracotta Portrait Busts of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (circa 1660), by Domenico Giudi are perhaps the largest terracotta portrait busts currently in America.
“Large scale terracotta busts are extremely rare, especially at this level of quality and liveliness. I cannot think of another such pair in America, other than the two Medici busts at the National Gallery in Washington,” said Andrew Butterfield.
Also on view is a newly discovered Madonna and Child (circa 1490), by Andrea della Robbia radiates the artist’s style; and a Lion (circa 1715), by Giovanni Battista Foggini, a favorite sculptor and architect of the Medici, animates as a model for a monument, commissioned by Parliament, to Queen Anne of England. Each of the three works is from a different period-- the Renaissance, the Baroque and the Rococo—and each perfectly exemplifies the character and the vision of its era. Together with the other works in the show they convey the unfolding of the history of art across three centuries.
Highlights from the exhibition include:
Pair of Monumental Terracotta Portrait Busts of Saint Peter and Saint Paul by Domenico Guidi.
These newly rediscovered, lively and spirited works are impressive both for their scale, as well as for their characterization of the two saints, combining subtlety of psychological insight with emphasis on their emotional transport and spiritual elevation. The artist of the works Domenico Guidi was one of the leading sculptors in Europe in the second half of the 17th century. Works by him are on view in the Vatican, Versailles, and the Villa Medici, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hermitage and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Madonna and Child by Andrea della Robbia
Another major work in the show is a newly identified Madonna and Child relief by Andrea della Robbia. This charming and touching work is a perfect instance of the artist's distinctive style, distinguished by the harmony of form and the purity of the radiant white and celestial blue. Andrea della Robbia’s sculptures embody the Florentine Renaissance and its dual emphasis on ideality and naturalism.
Lion by Giovanni Battista Foggini
The extraordinarily attractive statue was made as a model for a lion on a monument to Queen Anne of England (1665-1714), which was commissioned by Parliament. The modeling is especially vigorous and captures the innate power of the animal. The artist of the work, Foggini, was the court sculptor and architect to the Medici for many years, and at the heart of an exhibition at the Uffizi last year.
