Resumen de "Tanto goffe e mal fatte . . . dette figure si facessino . . . belle": The Trecento Overdoor Sculptures for the Baptistry in Florence and their Cinquecento Replacements
To a certain extent, three triads of 16th-century sculptures located above the portals of the Baptistry of Florence, Italy, were commissioned as in-situ formal updatings of preexisting, 14th-century sculptures. The later Baptistry groups are certainly not the only example of a late-medieval work of ensemble being replaced by a Renaissance-era equivalent that preserved the earlier thematic pattern, but a careful examination of the evidence reveals just how closely the Renaissance sculptors and their corporate patron followed the previous design. Close scrutiny of the evidence permits an accurate reconstruction of the trecento program of the sculptures at variance with that presented in earlier scholarship, reversing the generally acknowledged locations of two of the original figure groups. This study also reveals that, despite a contemplated major modification, this alignment ultimately determined the arrangement of the 16th-century replacement program. The data furnishes solid reasons for redefining the membership of one of the earlier overdoor groups by restoring it to a well-known figure who is seldom connected with the Baptistry.
