Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture June 1, 2007

'Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture From the MFA, Boston' features a fascinating collection that has never been shown as a whole and that remains virtually unknown to the general public and to scholars alike. In fact, several of the masterpieces on display were only recently rediscovered after being long hidden away in storage -- like 'St. John the Baptist,' a completely unknown early 16th century glazed terracotta recently attributed to the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Francesco Rustici, an associate of Leonardo da Vinci. Because many of the objects have been in storage and need extensive work to stabilize, clean and restore them to their best possible state, the exhibition explores some of the challenges and issues involved in the care and preservation of such a deep and old collection by showing some objects before or during conservation.