There are but few works devoted exclusively to the subject of Italian Renaissance sculpture. For many years American students seeking information in this direction have relied chiefly upon the works of C. C. Perkins: "Tuscan Sculptors" (2 vols.), London, 1864; "Italian Sculptors" (in Northern, Southern and Eastern Italy), London, 1868; and finally the volume which unites and revises the material of both earlier works, "Historical Handbook of Italian Sculpture," New York, 1883.
The recent work of Marcel Reymond, "La Sculpture Florentine," Florence, 1898, has been heartily welcomed by students of all nationalities. It consists of four volumes, all well illustrated, devoted respectively to: (1) Les Prédécesseurs de l'Ecole Florentine et la Sculpture Florentine au XIVe siècle [The Precursors of the Florentine School and Florentine Sculpture of the 14th Century]. (2) Première moitié du XVe siècle [First half of the 15th century]. (3) Seconde moitié du XVe siècle [Second half of the 15th century]. (4) Le XVIe siècle et les Successeurs de l'Ecole Florentine [The 16th Century and the Successors of the Florentine School]. As it has not been translated into English this work is not so widely read by the general public as it should be, but it is probably to be found in most large libraries.
A newly published book, "Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance," by L. J. Freeman, M. A., appears just as this volume goes to press. It is a brief survey, critical and interpretative, of the principal works of the most prominent Florentine sculptors of the period, with some account of the characteristics of the early and later Renaissance work. Some forty fine illustrations elucidate the study.
Of the general works on the history of art from which material on our subject may be drawn, the most important is of course Vasari's "Lives." In the recently revised English version, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins (New York, 1897), are some valuable footnotes summing up the characteristics of the individual sculptors.
Of inestimable value for purposes of serious study are the volumes by Eugène Müntz, "Histoire de l'Art pendant la Renaissance." The material bearing on the sculptors illustrated in this present collection is found in his volume devoted to "Les Primitifs" (Paris, 1889). Those to whom the French text presents no difficulty will derive much benefit from the study of this book, which may be consulted in the large public libraries.
A book available to all, and of a delightfully popular nature, is the volume on "The Fine Arts" in John Addington Symonds's series of The Renaissance in Italy. This writer had a remarkable gift for putting much suggestive comment into a compact and readable form.
General histories of sculpture allotting a proportionate space to the consideration of the Italian sculptors of the Renaissance are, by Lucy Baxter, "Sculpture, Renaissance and Modern" (New York, 1891); Lübke, "History of Sculpture," translated from the German by F. E. Bunnett (London, 1878); Allan Marquand and A. L. Frothingham, "Textbook of the History of Sculpture" (New York, 1896).
A special study of the work of Donatello is made by Hope Rea in a volume of the series of Handbooks of the Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture. A complete list of the sculptor's works is given. Luca della Robbia is the subject of two important French works: by Cavalucci and Molinier, "Les Della Robbia" (Paris, 1884); by Marcel Reymond, "Les Della Robbia" (Florence, 1897). There is a chapter on Luca della Robbia in Walter Pater's "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" (1890), and another in Mrs. Van Rensselaer's "Six Portraits" (Boston, 1889).
Mrs. Oliphant has written pleasantly both of Donatello and of Luca della Robbia in "The Makers of Florence."