LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Andrea del Verrocchio Florence, about 1435–Venice, 1488 Christ and Saint Thomas Bronze with gilt inscriptions 1467–1483 Verrocchio was commissioned in 1467 by theTribunale di Mercanzia (merchants’ court) to produce this large bronze sculpture for its niche on the eastern facade of the church of Orsanmichele in Florence. According to the Gospel of Saint John,Thomas the Apostle refused to believe in the Resurrection until he had seen or touched the wounds of Jesus’s crucifixion for himself.The entire sculpture is designed to convey a sense of movement and drama through chiaroscuro – the play of light and shade. During his apprenticeship to Verrocchio, Christ and SaintThomas was Leonardo’s prime source of instruction. Chiesa e Museo di Orsanmichele, Florence 00 1 00 2 On the basis of modern editions of Vasari’s Lives , Leonardo’s models for the drapery studies were long thought to be complete three-dimensional figures, due to a misunderstanding stemming from the alteration of a word in Vasari’s text.The restoration of the original term clarified the fact that Leonardo placed his draperies on large relief medallions, comparable to the bronze of Orsanmichele, on which the light also created similar effects. Presented together on this rare occasion, these famous studies have been named after their first known owner for this exhibition. Reconstruction of the Relief Sculpture for the Saint Morys Drapery Study Clay and cloth dipped in clay This work is an experimental reconstruction of the relief sculpture for the most famous of all Leonardo’s Draperies, the Saint Morys drapery study, on display here. Reconstruction made by the painter and sculptor Leticia Leratti, 2019