Iluminação, superfícies e materiais: esculpir o impercetível

Polychromy of Medieval and Early Renaissance sculpture can be painted, but also obtained with inlaid and using different materials. This paper focus on polymaterial sculpture and glazed terracotta sculpture in Tuscany, and the interplay between materials and lights – natural or artificial. Sculptors, indeed, used different materials and their surfaces – matte, glossy or shiny – in order to reinforce and convey the political or theological message to the beholder. They also adapted the device for the domestic setting, the interior of the ecclesiastical buildings or the façades of churches and civic buildings. Luca della Robbia’s implementation of glazed terracotta technique, in the 1430s, considerably changed the relationship between sculpture, material, and light.