Two of a Kind: Shining New Light on Bronze Spiritelli Attributed to Donatello

• Published in: Studies in conservation Vol. 65; no. 4; pp. 200 - 211
• Main Authors: Castelle, Manon, Bormand, Marc, Vandenberghe, Yannick, Bourgarit, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 18.05.2020; Maney Publishing
• Subjects: bronze statues; Chemical Sciences; ICP-AES; Italian Renaissance; PIXE; technical study; X- ray radiography; ICP-AES; Italian Renaissance; technical study; X- ray radiography; PIXE; bronze statues
• ISSN: 0039-3630; 2047-0584
• DOI: 10.1080/00393630.2019.1655261

Two Spiritelli attributed to Donatello have been extensively studied from a technical point of view, including X-radiography, alloy analysis, characterization of the core, and visual observations on the interior and exterior of the statues. The results of this technical study reveal how the two statues were cast and document the artist's technical choices. These new insights offer additional information to address questions regarding their attribution, production context, and conservation history. First, the technical study confirmed that the statues were made by the same workshop and argues against the prior proposal of different attributions for the two figures. Second, the results strongly suggest that the statues have never been separated since they were taken off Luca Della Robbia's Cantoria. Finally, study of the two Spiritelli offers further evidence of the heterogeneity and ingeniousness of Donatellos bronze artistic production, and contributes to the ongoing debate whether the artist himself was involved in the technical aspects of his sculpture.