This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery. Please follow the links below for related online resources or visit our current exhibitions schedule.
Three monumental masterpieces of
Italian Renaissance sculpture by Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455),
Nanni di Banco (c. 1380/1385-1421), and Andrea del Verrocchio
(1435–1488) will travel to the National Gallery of Art marking
the completion of their restoration. It is the first time that
major works by Ghiberti and Nanni di Banco have traveled to
the United States. The works on view, Ghiberti's
St. Matthew (1419–1421), Nanni di Banco's Quattro
Santi Coronati (Four Martyred Saints) (c.1409–1416),
and Verrocchio's Christ
and St. Thomas (1466–1483), were originally created
for the exterior of Orsanmichele in Florence, and they represent
the highest achievement of 15th-century Florentine sculpture.
During the Renaissance, Orsanmichele, one of the most important
though less well-known Renaissance structures, functioned
both as a church and a grain storage and market facility;
the Florentine trade guilds chose it as the site for statues
of their patron saints. Since 1984 the statues have been undergoing much-needed restoration; the building has been closed to the public since 2002. Once the statues return to Florence, Orsanmichele will again be open, making it highly improbable
that its works should ever be allowed to travel again.
Sponsor: This exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of an anonymous donor.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.