Adoration of the Child

Colour is an inseparable part of the medieval tradition of religious art: the statues in Romanesque and Gothic churches were painted right up to the 16th century. Florentine sculptures in the maiolica technique - earthenware with a coloured glaze introduced by Luca della Robbia - combined the charming simplicity and ornamental quality of folk art with a true-to-life depiction of the human figures.