Censing Angel

One of the grandest building projects in early Renaissance Florence was the construction of a new cathedral in 1296. It was a civic as much as a religious undertaking, and the monument captured the ambition and spirit of the city. The building and its impressive marble facade were designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, Florence’s most celebrated sculptor and architect at that time. Although work progressed quickly, Arnolfo died with barely a third of the facade realized. A sixteenth-century drawing indicates that this sculpture, essentially a high relief, was placed above the main entrance of the cathedral, flanking a large statue of the Virgin and Child that was at the center of the tympanum. The skillful handling of the marble, the deeply undercut drapery, and brilliant drill work, especially in the angel’s hair, reveal the close observation of, and renewed interest in, ancient sculpture that was an essential underpinning of the Renaissance. This marble is the only sculpture from the original facade that exists outside Europe.