ROBBIA, Luca della
(b. 1399/1400, Firenze, d. 1482, Firenze)

Labours of the Months: June

1450s
Glazed terracotta, diameter 57 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This roundel belongs to a series of twelve Labours of the Months. The roundels are the sole remnants of a room in the Palazzo Medici on the Via Larga in Florence. Destroyed in 1659, when the Palazzo Medici was enlarged, the room was a private study (or studiolo) for Piero de'Medici. The roundels decorated the barrel vault and must have been set into a framework of architectural moldings. They were arranged in three rows of four. In each roundel a male figure performs an activity appropriate to the month. The border indicates the amount of daylight, and a flaming sun is shown with the proper astrological sign.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.