Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence

Abstract

In this review of the National Gallery of Art’s new exhibit, Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence I look at the internal composition of the exhibit, the argument lead curator Andrew Butterfield has advanced about Verrocchio’s importance to the development of Renaissance art, and how the use of Verrocchio’s more recognizable students overshadows the master’s own presence in the exhibit. Additionally, I discuss the importance immediacy of this exhibit allowing visitors a focused and up-close view of Verrocchio’s work in ways not allowed in their home seating. Finally, I also discuss areas where this exhibit could have been in conversation with concurrent exhibit, Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain and the past exhibit, The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy. Ultimately, I discuss the immense importance of this exhibit in brining Verrocchio’s work to the forefront, even from the National Gallery of Art’s own collection, in this first ever focus on the master’s work in the United States.

Jordan S Sly is a research and instruction librarian at the University of Maryland in College Park. Additionally, Jordan is a Ph.D student in the University of Maryland department of history focusing on seventeenth-century religious, intellectual, and political history. Finally, Jordan is an affiliated faculty member of the University's iSchool.