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How did Luca della Robbia use glazed pottery for Renaissance sculpture?

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Kara Walker: A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby — Sculpture Visitors viewing *A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby*, a sugar-coated polystyrene sculpture by Kara Walker, 2014, part of a temporary installation at the former Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York.

Luca della Robbia was a pioneering Florentine Renaissance sculptor who transformed the use of terra-cotta by developing a technique for coating his sculptures in a durable, polychrome enamel glaze. While he initially worked in marble, he became renowned for this innovative ceramic process, which added a vibrant, fresh aesthetic to architectural and sculptural forms.12

According to the writer Giorgio Vasari, the glaze was composed of a mixture of tin, litharge, antimony, and other minerals. This tin-glazing technique allowed for a range of colors and provided a protective, decorative finish that made his works highly distinct.13

His notable applications of this medium included:
* Architectural Reliefs: His earliest documented work in this style was a lunette of the Resurrection for the Florence cathedral (1442–45).1
* Decorative Schemes: He produced significant works such as the roundels of the Apostles in the Pazzi Chapel and various altarpieces.1

The workshop he founded, continued by his nephew Andrea and others, became synonymous with this style of sculptured glazed terra-cotta.134