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A Panorama of Pittsburgh
at the Frick through 10/5
Learn about Pittsburgh's past by viewing more than 130 printed views of the city.

Meissonier masterpiece
now on view at the Frick
1806, Jena is on view at the Frick through May 31, 2009.

This Sunday is
RADical Day at the Frick
Visit the Frick on 10/5 for a full day of activities and fun!

Rob Rogers discusses
political cartooning on 10/12
The Post-Gazette's award-winning editorial cartoonist will discuss his experiences covering the 2008 presidential campaign and conventions.

Music for Exhibitions
begins new season 11/18
Join Katherine Soroka and Chatham Baroque for an evening of memorable music.

View photos from the 2008 H. C. Frick Horseless Carriage Tour
Twenty-six teams of drivers made it a day of fun.

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Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics from the Corcoran Gallery of Art Collection

January 22, 2005 - August 28, 2005

On January 22, 2005, The Frick Art & Historical Center opens an exhibition of exquisite fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian ceramics. Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics from the Corcoran Gallery of Art features thirty-two utilitarian objects including plates and dishes, apothecary jars and devotional objects. Appearing nearly as fresh and colorful as when they were produced, these pieces offer fascinating insights into maiolica’s role in the lives of Italian Renaissance consumers.

Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics is organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The exhibition is made possible by the Scott Opler Foundation, Inc.

Marvels of Maiolica, remains on view through through August 28, 2005.

About Maiolica
While we often think of Renaissance Italy in terms of the monumental accomplishments of Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and other artists, highly skilled artisans of the period also produced an impressive array of functional objects. Renaissance Italians, especially those in urban centers, were avid consumers of a wide variety of ceramics, both decorative and utilitarian.

Italian maiolica (as distinguished from the “majolica” that appeared in England during the late nineteenth century) was produced by applying tin glazing onto carefully prepared clay. After a first firing, talented artists painted the opaque white surfaces with allegorical and biblical images, historical scenes, heraldry, and erotica. The objects were then subjected to a second firing that sealed the images and heightened their vivid colors – royal blue, yellow, gold, and spring green – and some pieces received a third firing that resulted in a gilded-looking surface.

Maiolica was valued equally for its utility and for the aesthetic pleasure it gave. It was utilized at table, in apothecaries, and for commemoration of important public and family events like marriage and childbirth. Collectors displayed maiolica in prominent locations and citizens at all levels of society gave it as gifts.

Objects in the Exhibition
The objects on view in Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics are grouped loosely by function. A selection of maiolica apothecary jars – including a pair decorated with fanciful images of putti (1500 – 1510) – attest to the importance of the apothecary as the main resource for medical treatment during the Renaissance period. Inkstands were also popular items during the Renaissance, illustrating the value placed on literacy and the ability to write (skills possessed by about half of the male population). An example from Faenza is decorated with a knight sleeping on a footed platform with images of animals and heraldic elements.

Although most of the objects in the exhibition have clear utilitarian purposes, they also played an intriguing role in society. The sophisticated and often elaborate narrative scenes on maiolica were intended to spark conversation, encourage sociability and demonstrate erudition. Others, such as a plate from Faenza with a central medallion of clasped hands surrounded by striking geometric designs in blue and yellow, were produced to commemorate a marriage. “Bella donna” plates, featuring a central portrait of a young woman, may have been used to celebrate engagements or weddings or simply honor famous local women.

The popularity of classical images can be seen in a number of objects. An image of Judith and the head of Holofernes adorns a molded dish made in Deruta, while a beautiful footed dish features the arms of the Medici, as well as the papal tiara and the crossed keys of St. Peter. The dish was associated with Giovanni dé Medici who became Pope Leo X in 1513.

According to exhibition curator Jacqueline Marie Musacchio, assistant professor of art history at Vassar College, the quantity of surviving Renaissance ceramics reveals that these were prized possessions, carefully tended through the centuries. Even elite patrons who might have been able to afford new pieces often tried to repair broken items. All of this suggests the prominent role and value that maiolica achieved in Renaissance Italy.

THE COLLECTION AND CATALOGUE
Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics has been selected from the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s William A. Clark Collection. The Clark Collection consists of more than eight hundred works, including paintings and decorative arts, that were donated to the Gallery in 1925 by copper-mining baron and Montana senator, William A. Clark.

The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalogue written by exhibition co-curator Jacqueline Marie Musacchio. Highly detailed and handsomely illustrated, the catalogue will be available at the Museum Shop for $10.95.

THE FRICK ART MUSEUM
Part of the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh, The Frick Art Museum contains the fine and decorative art collection of Helen Clay Frick, daughter of Henry Clay Frick. In addition to exhibiting its permanent collection, which concentrates on Italian Renaissance and French eighteenth-century works, the Museum has an active program of temporary exhibitions.

Admission to The Frick Art Museum is free to the public. Free, docent-led tours of Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics and Artistry and Innovation in
Pittsburgh Glass, 1808 - 1882; From Bakewell & Ensell to Bakewell, Pears & Co. will be offered every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Groups of five or more should schedule a private tour, available for $5 per person. Tours of the permanent collection are also available for $5 per person. Tours should be scheduled two weeks in advance.

GENERAL INFORMATION
The Frick Art & Historical Center is located at 7227 Reynolds Street in Point Breeze. Free parking is available in the Frick’s off-street lot, or along adjacent streets. Hours of operation are Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The site is closed Mondays and major holidays.

For information and reservations, call 412-371-0600, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday.

For further information or images, please contact Greg Langel at the Frick Art & Historical Center at 412-371-0600, ext. 524, or at glangel@frickart.org.

Click here for programs and special events offered in conjunction with Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics from the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Urbino, Nicola da Urbino, <i>Plate with Calliope Crowning a Youth</i>, circa 1525 – 1528. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Castelli, Workshop of Orazio Pompeii, <i>Dish with an Allegorical Subject</i>, circa 1520 – 1540. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The scroll translates as, “Take and don't regret it. The worst that can happen is that you would have to give it back.”