The frieze of the Ospedale del Ceppo (vs16) is the latest and perhaps the most spectacular work created in the field of glazed terracotta sculpture; so spectacular that it can be considered the "swan song" of the della Robbia production. Glazed terracotta is a medium in which sculptural relief is combined with color. It was one of the most significant and widespread artistic techniques of the Tuscan Renaissance and found its greatest expression in the works of Luca della Robbia (who is considered the father of glazed terracotta) and the sons, grandsons and apprentices who followed his lead (vs24).
Among the assistants, Santi Buglioni played an important role because he was the last great artist to use glazed terracotta and because he created the highly colored panels in the Pistoian frieze. The well-defined iconography program deals with the Seven Works of Charity and was inspired by the Administrator of the hospital Leonardo Buonafede. In the seven panels he is seen in a white robe with a black hood as he presides over the hospital guild's daily chores, serving as a reminder to all good Christians of their duty. We see him in the pane Is (from left to right) Dressing the Unclothed, Assisting Widows, Sheltering Pilgrims, Helping the Infirm, Visiting the imprisoned, Burying the Dead, Feeding the Hungry. The last panel on the right, Giving Drink to the Thirsty, was modeled by the Pistoian artist Filippo di Lorenzo Paladini who, at the end of the sixteenth century for reasons unknown to us, replaced the original (of which only a few fragments now remain). The glazes of this last panel, which features the then Administrator Bartolomeo Montichiari, have lost their vivid quality and color. This confirms the originality of the technique that Buglioni had learned first as an apprentice and then as a competitor of the della Robbia family. The scenes are divided by vertical reliefs of decorated pilasters that frame allegorical figures representing the Virtues: (from left to right) Prudence, Faith, Charity, Hope, Justice. In the corners we see two imaginary figures with the symbol of the Ceppo at their feet. The decoration of the hospital had begun some decades before with the commission given to Benedetto Buglioni for the Incoronation of the Virgin on the left-hand entrance near the colonnade. A few years later Buglioni executed a medallion with the trunk symbol which has now been identified as the one on the right side of the colonnade. The same year that Santi was commissioned to do the frieze, Giovanni della Robbia, the last member of the famous family, modeled the medallions showing Scenes of the Life of the Virgin and the Medici coat of arms.

(n.) refers to the number of the file-card (s.i.) means see information inside

Santi Buglioni, Leonardo Buonfede

Santi Buglioni's Realism

Following the Renaissance portrait tradition, Santi Buglioni shows his remarkable talent for giving expression to the physiognomy of the main characters in his scenes. Particularly in his portrayal of the Administrator Buonafede, the sculptor was able to express the commissioner's personality through the attention to facial details. The decision to leave the figures° flesh, hair and beards with no glaze shows Buglioni's particular interest in reality, as does his more widely varied palette compared to the more somber del la Robbìa tones. This attention is reinforced by the theatricality of the poses of the figures who, as they twist in their positions, recall the most advanced expressions of Michelangelo's art.