August 31, 2026
The Met reunites Della Robbia glazed terracottas after decades in storageThe Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened Rediscovering Della Robbia at The Met, an exhibition devoted to three generations of the Florentine family whose glazed terracotta transformed Renaissance sculpture. The exhibition opened on August 10, 2026, and remains on view through January 17, 2028.
Around 1440, Luca della Robbia developed a closely guarded technique for glazing terracotta. The process gave sculpture brilliant color, a glasslike surface, and unusual durability, while allowing forms to be produced more economically than marble or bronze. Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia expanded the workshop’s visual language over the following century.
The Met holds the largest and most significant collection of Della Robbia sculpture in the United States. For the first time, twelve major works from the museum’s holdings are presented together in one gallery, accompanied by loans and works connected with the Dick Wolf Collection. Several objects had remained in storage for decades before conservation and renewed study brought them back into view.
A central feature is a ten-foot altarpiece assembled from 33 newly conserved interlocking sections. The surviving pieces are shown alongside an animated virtual reconstruction based on 3D scanning, allowing visitors to consider how the ensemble may originally have appeared.
The exhibition demonstrates how conservation, curatorial research, and digital technology can reshape the understanding of a historic workshop without separating technical inquiry from the physical presence of the sculptures.
Sources: The Met exhibition page; The Met press release. | 
