ABSTRACT
This chapter describes author's findings about the evolution of framing garlands—inspired by Antique and painted, examples—in secular and religious Della Robbia works. While taking into account their workshops, there is an evolution from Luca's Federighi Monument (1454–56)—the last work in which he used marble—with its flat, glazed garland through the works of Giovanni with their over-the-top, three-dimensional garlands. While Luca's production of three-dimensional garlands begins with heraldic sculptures (stemme), his employment of garlands escalates when his nephew Andrea becomes a collaborator in the 1460s. His garlands feature regularized clusters of symbolic fruits and/or flowers fabricated in the leather-hard state in hollowed-out sections joined when inserted into walls or frames. Andrea expanded Luca's use of garlands and worked on a much larger scale; he also added variety to the fruits and flowers, although his repertoire gravitates to the same species with highly regularized clusters (exceptions to the rule and workshop). With Giovanni, first in collaboration with his father Andrea, and then on his own, the botanical species proliferate and include prowling creatures. The pinnacle of Giovanni's garlands frames the Antinori Resurrection, which will be discussed with new documentary evidence about its production.
