BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Bald Habakkuk

Through June 14, 2015
Museum of Biblical Art
New York, NY
www.mobia.org

BAR is not the only one celebrating an important birthday—the Museum of Biblical Art in New York city turns ten this year. In honor of their tenth anniversary, they have organized a stunning exhibit: Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces from Florence Cathedral.

The exhibit features 23 sculptures dating to the first half of the 15th century—the beginning of the Italian renaissance. These sculptures were made to decorate Il Duomo, the magnificent cathedral designed by Brunelleschi in Florence, Italy—itself included in the exhibit with two wooden models made by architect Brunelleschi himself.

In the exhibit are some iconic pieces of renaissance art, including Donatello’s St. John the Evangelist and Habakkuk—perhaps better known by its Italian name Lo Zuccone, which literally means “the pumpkin” or “the bald-head.” Meant to represent the Biblical prophet Habakkuk, Lo Zuccone displays striking realism; the bald-headed figure has not been idealized, as many contemporaneous works were, but looks like a real person.

Since all of the pieces in Sculpture in the Age of Donatello were created for the purpose of decorating Il Duomo, the exhibit tells a cohesive story. Many of the works on display have never before left Italy. If a trip to Florence is not in your immediate plans, this exhibit may be the next best thing.