Fallen Angel: Andrea della Robbia, “Saint Michael the Archangel,” ca. 1475, glazed terracotta, Metropolitan Museum
This just in, from a statement issued by the Metropolitan Museum:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is saddened to report that late last night or early this morning, a late 15th-century glazed terracotta
relief sculpture of “Saint Michael the Archangel” by Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), came
loose from metal mounts that have long held the framed lunette securely to the wall above
a doorway in its European Paintings and Decorative Arts Galleries.The 62-x-32-inch
relief, which has been on view in its current location since 1996, fell to a stone floor and
suffered some damage. Preliminary inspection indicates that the relief has not been
irrevocably harmed and that it can be repaired and again presented to the public.
That’s what they also said about the Tullio Lombardo sculpture of Adam that keeled over in 2002 and hasn’t been publicly spotted since. The Met says that it “routinely and thoroughly inspects its pedestals and wall mounts to reconfirm
their structural integrity” and “will initiate a reinvigorated museum-wide examination
as expeditiously as possible.”
And in other broken-object news, the Art Tribune reported earlier this month that an Islamic bowl lent by the Louvre to Quebec’s National Museum of Fine Arts for a loan show from the French museum’s collection, “The Louvre, Arts and Life,” was broken during the show’s installation.
“An on-the-spot evaluation took place immediately which showed that the work could be restored,” according to the Louvre’s statement. Here’s that piece:
“The Falconer on Horseback” Iran, early 13th century, the Louvre
Photo: RMN / H. Lewandowski