Reliefs from the Singing Gallery

Luca della Robbia is regarded as one of the leading innovative artists of the fifteenth century, who founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence. Probably in 1428 he was commissioned to complete the singing gallery for the Duomo in Florence. It was his first documented work. The work of the young artist was overseen by Filippo Brunelleschi, whose influence is reflected in the architectural forms of the Cantoria. The reliefs, which depict dancing and singing children, were inspired by the verses of Psalm 150. In 1688, the singing gallery was moved to the building that is now the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. It was only in the late nineteenth century that the gallery was rediscovered, at which time it was reassembled, wrongly as it later transpired, from its pieces. The Museum of Fine Arts ordered the plaster cast in 1906, receiving a copy of the wrongly reconstructed gallery. Over time, the architectural elements and consoles of the cast have deteriorated. Thus, only copies of the reliefs are exhibited in Komárom.