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Nicolà di Gabriele Sbraga, known as Nicolà da Urbino (c. 1480-1537 or 1538)
Plate (Abimelech Spying on Isaac and Rebecca) with the coat of arms of Isabella d'Este-Gonzaga, Marchioness of Mantua
c. 1524
© R.M.N. |
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Richelieu
1st Floor
Gallery of The Hunts of Maximilian
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Renaissance decorative arts |
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| In the late fifteenth century a type of ceramic with painted decoration appeared in Faenze, the town which would give its name to "faience". The art of faience, or tin-glazed earthenware, developed very rapidly in Italy under the name "majolica" (from Majorca, the island via which Italian commissions of Spanish faience were transported). Some majolica ware was adorned with historiated scenes and thus became known as "istoriati". The art of "istoriato" reached its peak in Urbino, in the Italian Marches, in the early sixteenth century. It is from Urbino that this plate from the dinner service of Isabella d'Este originated, the work of one of the most renowned Italian faience makers, Nicola da Urbino (1480-1538), who completed it c.1525. Inspired by Raphael's composition for the Vatican Loggia, the scene depicts Abimelech spying on Isaac and Rebekah. The coat of arms of Isabella d'Este (1474-1539), margravine of Mantua, can be seen on the right, while her motto, "Nec spe nec metu" ("neither through hope nor through fear"), appears at the bottom. Isabella d'Este was a great patron of the arts and a discerning collector. The exact date of the service to which this plate belongs remains unknown, but it may have been contemporary with the marriage of Isabella d'Este's daughter, Eleonora, to Francesco Maria della Rovere, duke of Urbino, which would explain the choice of Nicola da Urbino for this commission.
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Look at the other tapestries from the Maximilian hunting series in this room.
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