The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (407 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
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Robbia , Luca della
(1399/1400–82).
Florentine sculptor, the most famous member of a family of artists. Nothing is known of his early career, and he was a mature artist by the time of his first documented work—a
Cantoria
(Singing Gallery, 1431–8) for Florence Cathedral, now in the Cathedral Museum. It is a work of considerable originality as well as enormous charm, antedating by a year or two the companion gallery by
Donatello
(now also in the Cathedral Museum). Its marble
reliefs
of angels and children singing, dancing, and making music reflect
antique
prototypes, but conceived in a more cheerful, less heroic spirit than Donatello's figures. In his own time Luca had the reputation of being one of the leaders of the modern (i.e.
Renaissance
) style, comparable to Donatello and
Ghiberti
in sculpture and
Masaccio
in painting, but he is now remembered mainly for his development of coloured, glazed
terracotta
as a sculptural medium—in particular for his highly popular invention of the type of the half-length Madonna and Child in white on a blue ground. The family workshop seems to have kept the technical formula a secret and it became the basis of a flourishing business; among the major works by Luca in the medium are the roundels of Apostles (
c.
1444) in
Brunelleschi's
Pazzi Chapel in Sta Croce. Luca's business was carried on by his nephew
Andrea
(1435–1525), and later by Andrea 's five sons, of whom
Giovanni
(1469–after 1529) was the most important. The famous roundels of infants on the façade of the Foundling Hospital in Florence (1463–6) were probably made by Andrea . His successors tended to sentimentalize Luca's warm humanity, and in course of time the artists' studio became a potters' workshop-industry.
Florentine sculptor, the most famous member of a family of artists. Nothing is known of his early career, and he was a mature artist by the time of his first documented work—a
Cantoria
(Singing Gallery, 1431–8) for Florence Cathedral, now in the Cathedral Museum. It is a work of considerable originality as well as enormous charm, antedating by a year or two the companion gallery by
Donatello
(now also in the Cathedral Museum). Its marble
reliefs
of angels and children singing, dancing, and making music reflect
antique
prototypes, but conceived in a more cheerful, less heroic spirit than Donatello's figures. In his own time Luca had the reputation of being one of the leaders of the modern (i.e.
Renaissance
) style, comparable to Donatello and
Ghiberti
in sculpture and
Masaccio
in painting, but he is now remembered mainly for his development of coloured, glazed
terracotta
as a sculptural medium—in particular for his highly popular invention of the type of the half-length Madonna and Child in white on a blue ground. The family workshop seems to have kept the technical formula a secret and it became the basis of a flourishing business; among the major works by Luca in the medium are the roundels of Apostles (
c.
1444) in
Brunelleschi's
Pazzi Chapel in Sta Croce. Luca's business was carried on by his nephew
Andrea
(1435–1525), and later by Andrea 's five sons, of whom
Giovanni
(1469–after 1529) was the most important. The famous roundels of infants on the façade of the Foundling Hospital in Florence (1463–6) were probably made by Andrea . His successors tended to sentimentalize Luca's warm humanity, and in course of time the artists' studio became a potters' workshop-industry.
Robert , Hubert
(1733–1808).
French landscape painter. From 1754 to 1765 he was in Italy (mainly Rome), and in 1761 he travelled to south Italy and Sicily with
Fragonard
. He made a vast quantity of drawings in Italy, on which he based his pictures after his return to Paris. His particular interest was in ruins and he was the first to make them the main theme of a picture rather than to use them as
Picturesque
accessories. He romanticized the vision of
Panini
and
Piranesi
, whom he knew in Rome, and often set his ruins in idealized surroundings (although he also painted topographical views). His work was highly successful, satisfying the vogue for rather artificial, idealized landscape that was one aspect of
Rococo
taste. Under Louis XVI Robert became Keeper of the King's Pictures and one of the first curators of the
Louvre
, but he was imprisoned during the Revolution. He owed his life to an accident whereby another person of the same name was guillotined in his stead.
French landscape painter. From 1754 to 1765 he was in Italy (mainly Rome), and in 1761 he travelled to south Italy and Sicily with
Fragonard
. He made a vast quantity of drawings in Italy, on which he based his pictures after his return to Paris. His particular interest was in ruins and he was the first to make them the main theme of a picture rather than to use them as
Picturesque
accessories. He romanticized the vision of
Panini
and
Piranesi
, whom he knew in Rome, and often set his ruins in idealized surroundings (although he also painted topographical views). His work was highly successful, satisfying the vogue for rather artificial, idealized landscape that was one aspect of
Rococo
taste. Under Louis XVI Robert became Keeper of the King's Pictures and one of the first curators of the
Louvre
, but he was imprisoned during the Revolution. He owed his life to an accident whereby another person of the same name was guillotined in his stead.
Roberti , Ercole de'
(
c.
1450–96).
Italian painter, active mainly in Ferrara. He succeeded
Tura
as court painter to the
Este
in 1486, but little is known of his life. Earlier he appears to have assisted
Cossa
for some years, and with Cossa and Tura he ranks as the leading artist of the 15th-cent. Ferrarese school. The only picture reasonably certainly his is the altarpiece with a
Madonna Enthroned with Saints
(1480) painted for Sta Maria in Poroto at Ravenna and now in the Brera, Milan. Other works, however, can be confidently given to him because of his distinctive style. He inherited the tradition of Tura and Cossa with their precise line and metallic colours against elaborately fanciful ornamentation, but he developed this manner with great originality, modifying it with a subtlety of handling that seems to derive from Giovanni
Bellini
. His work is often remarkable for its almost mystical intensity of feeling, as in his
Pietà
in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
c.
1450–96).
Italian painter, active mainly in Ferrara. He succeeded
Tura
as court painter to the
Este
in 1486, but little is known of his life. Earlier he appears to have assisted
Cossa
for some years, and with Cossa and Tura he ranks as the leading artist of the 15th-cent. Ferrarese school. The only picture reasonably certainly his is the altarpiece with a
Madonna Enthroned with Saints
(1480) painted for Sta Maria in Poroto at Ravenna and now in the Brera, Milan. Other works, however, can be confidently given to him because of his distinctive style. He inherited the tradition of Tura and Cossa with their precise line and metallic colours against elaborately fanciful ornamentation, but he developed this manner with great originality, modifying it with a subtlety of handling that seems to derive from Giovanni
Bellini
. His work is often remarkable for its almost mystical intensity of feeling, as in his
Pietà
in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Roberts , David
(1796–1864).
Scottish painter. He was apprenticed to a house painter, then worked as a scene painter for a travelling circus and Glasgow and Edinburgh theatres. In 1822 he settled in London and worked at the Drury Lane Theatre with his friend Clarkson
Stanfield
. From 1831 he travelled widely in Europe and the Mediterranean basin and made a fortune with his topographical views. He worked in oil and watercolour and published lavishly illustrated books, among them the six-volume
The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia
(1842–9). His work can be monotonous when seen
en masse
, but at his best he combines bold design with precise observation.
Scottish painter. He was apprenticed to a house painter, then worked as a scene painter for a travelling circus and Glasgow and Edinburgh theatres. In 1822 he settled in London and worked at the Drury Lane Theatre with his friend Clarkson
Stanfield
. From 1831 he travelled widely in Europe and the Mediterranean basin and made a fortune with his topographical views. He worked in oil and watercolour and published lavishly illustrated books, among them the six-volume
The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia
(1842–9). His work can be monotonous when seen
en masse
, but at his best he combines bold design with precise observation.
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