LONDON.- Dickinson announced that their exhibition, Forma Viva - Italian Sculpture 1400 - 1800, is now open. Explore the digital turn-page catalogue on their website, which gives a taste of some of the works they have on display.

This exhibition covers the time period from the extraordinary creative energy of the Renaissance to the blistering self confidence and dynamism of Baroque art. In just thirteen artworks, the full scope of the talent and innovation of Italian sculptors is evident.

The earliest work is also one of the rarest: Luca della Robbia's Portrait of a Youth, dated circa 1435-40. At this moment, Luca della Robbia was working with Donatello on the Cantoria for the Duomo in Florence, and Donatello's influence on the boyish face is clear. Luca della Robbia was responsible for the rebirth of terracotta sculpture in the Renaissance with his invention of colourful glazed terracotta, and the exhibition also features examples by Luca's nephew Andrew, who inherited the family workshop in 1482, and Andrea's son Giovanni, who oversaw the practice's evolution into the sixteenth century.

Luca della Robbia (Florence, 1399/1400 - 1482), Portrait of a Youth, c. 1435-40. Terracota roundel-type bust, 39 x 33 x 15 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Archaeological digs on the Italian peninsula during the Renaissance uncovered classical antiquities which led sculptors away from the Gothic style and towards a new interest in human anatomy and the nude. A highlight of the exhibition is a marble Saint Sebastian attributed to the Florentine partnership of Benedetto da Rovezzano and Donato Benti, which showcases an extraordinary sensitivity to the human torso.

The Baroque era was dominated by the art of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. In 1633, Pope Urban VIII asked Bernini to design a marble tomb of Countess Matilda for the Vatican. The recently rediscovered bronze cast of this model by Bernini features in the exhibition is dated by scholars to the 1630s. Filippo Parodi worked first as an assistant to Bernini before making his own name as Genoa's greatest Baroque sculptor. In its flowing forms, his marble Bacchus demonstrates Bernini's influence as well as the development of sculpture beyond Bernini.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples, 1598 - 1680, Rome), Matilda of Canossa, c. 1633-37. Bronze, 40 x 22 x 10.7 cm © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

The last great sculptor working for the Medici in Florence was Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. In the exhibition, we can compare two of his most important works: the bronze Ganymede and the Eagle, and his very moving and beautifully preserved Lamentation of Christ - possibly one of the greatest Italian terracottas in existence.

Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (Montevarchi, 1656 - 1740, Galatrona), Ganymede and the Eagle, c. 1714. Bronze, 31.5 x 38.5 x 16.5 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (Montevarchi, 1656 - 1740, Galatrona), The Lamentation of Christ, c. 1715. Terracotta, 43 x 25 x 22 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

This is the first exhibition of Renaissance sculpture in 30 years.

Forma Viva - Italian sculpture 1400 - 1800 runs from 17th June to 18th July 2024, Monday - Friday, 10am - 6pm at Dickinson, 58 Jermyn Street, London.

Andrea Della Robbia (Florence, 1435 - 1525), Th,e Virgin and the Blessing Child, c. 1490-95. Glazed terracotta roundel, 45 cm diameter. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Benedetto Buglioni (Florence, 1459/60 - 1521), Benedetto da Maiano (Maiano, 1442 - 1497 Florence), Madonna and Child, c. 1495-1505. Glazed terracotta, 70 x 47 x 8 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Benedetto da Rovezzano (Pistoia, 1474 - c. 1552n Regello), Donato Benti (Florence, 1470 - 1537, Pietrasanta), Saint Sebastian, c. 1503-04. Marble, 108 x 34 x30 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Pietro Paolo Olivieri (Rome, c. 1551 - 1599), The Creation of Eve, c. 1580. White marble relief, 44 x 64.5 x 4 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Filippo Parodi (Genoa, 1630 - 1702), Bacchus, c. 1670. Marble, 156 x 55 x 40 cm © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024

Guigielmus de Grof (Antwerp, 1676 - 1759, Munich), Portrait bust of Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignano (1663 - 1736), c. 1710-15. Terracotta, 77 x 61 x 35 cm. © Simon C. Dickinson Ltd. 2024