AFTER LUCA DELLA ROBBIA (ITALIAN, 1400-1482): A LARGE MARBLE RELIEF FROM THE CANTORIA 'SINGING GALLERY'
depicting seven youthful, classically attired choir sings holding hands in a circle and singing, some of the figures carved in the round others in high relief,

The present relief is after the original panel from Della Robbia's earliest documented work, the Cantoria or singing gallery of Florence cathedral. In 1431 Della Robbia was commissioned to produce ten carved marble panels to fit around the singing gallery or organ loft of Florence cathedral. These were mounted in an architectural setting, with the upper part enclosing four panels and resembling a Roman sarcophagus, with a further panel on each end and four further reliefs in the console below. Originally situated above the door of the North Sacristy, the panels were dismantled in 1688 and are now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of Florence Cathedral.

Related Literature: Italian Renaissance Sculpture, J.M. Olsen, Thames and Hudson, London 1992, p75.