Lot Essay
Robert Anning Bell was primarily a painter but, true to an 'Arts and Crafts' versatility, worked in a variety of materials. He modelled reliefs for the Della Robbia pottery, whose wares were coloured and glazed in Italian Renaissance style.
This panel has a direct Italian link also, this time to the rilievo schiacciato (squashed relief) invented by Donatello. Such light relief was embraced by George Frampton, who collaborated with Bell on several such projects, in an article in 1893 on the colouring of sculpture.
Cf: The Studio, Vol. XLII, p. 309 (illustrated)
See also: The Colour of Sculpture, Van Gogh Museum, 1996, Exhib. Cat. No. 44, p. 166/7 (an example numbered 2 illustrated)
The Decorative Arts Society Journal, No. 14, p. 16ff.
An example was also exhibited at the Fine Art Society in 1907.
This panel has a direct Italian link also, this time to the rilievo schiacciato (squashed relief) invented by Donatello. Such light relief was embraced by George Frampton, who collaborated with Bell on several such projects, in an article in 1893 on the colouring of sculpture.
Cf: The Studio, Vol. XLII, p. 309 (illustrated)
See also: The Colour of Sculpture, Van Gogh Museum, 1996, Exhib. Cat. No. 44, p. 166/7 (an example numbered 2 illustrated)
The Decorative Arts Society Journal, No. 14, p. 16ff.
An example was also exhibited at the Fine Art Society in 1907.