ATLANTA, GA.- Three marble panels from Italian sculptor Luca della Robbia’s famed organ loft created for Florence Cathedral travelled to the U.S. for the first time for “Make A Joyful Noise”: Renaissance Art and Music at Florence Cathedral at the High Museum of Art.

The exhibition, on view from Oct. 25, 2014 through Jan. 11, 2015, places the marble panels in the musical environment for which they were originally created by displaying them with other musical objects, including hand-decorated choir books from the cathedral and a lectern designed to hold them.

Luca della Robbia began his Cantoria, originally designed as an organ loft but later used to hold choir singers, for the Cathedral of Florence in 1431. He worked for seven years on the project, eventually producing 10 exquisitely detailed panels that depict the celebratory text of Psalm 150. He focused his marble interpretation of the Psalm on jubilant children singing, playing instruments and dancing to music.

Research conducted in preparation for the High’s exhibition produced a new chronology for the order in which the artist created the panels, uncovering a progression from simple instruments and cautious carving in the early panels to spectacularly nuanced facial expressions, spatial complexity, and musical representations in the final panels. Payment records show that the Cantoria’s commissioners recognized Luca’s achievement, increasing his compensation during the course of the project. The young Luca received lavish praise for this work and was quickly acknowledged as one of the five founders of Renaissance art in Florence, joining the highly lauded company of Ghiberti, Donatello, Brunelleschi and Masaccio.

In 1688 the Cantoria panels were taken down from the walls of Florence Cathedral, eventually finding their current home at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. Only one of the panels ever left Italy, and none previously traveled to the U.S. In addition to three panels from the Cantoria, the High’s exhibition will include several contextualizing musical pieces, including a walnut lectern used to hold choir books at the Florence Baptistery and three choir books that were used in the cathedral.

Music from the choir books featured in the exhibition will be performed on the accompanying audio tour. In addition, live performances and recitals by local school groups and arts organizations will be held at select times throughout the run of the exhibition in an adjoining gallery, further exploring the relationship between the visual and performing arts.

“Displaying the panels side by side shows how Luca’s style and technique evolved during the course of the commission,” said Gary Radke, guest curator for the exhibition and dean’s professor of the humanities at Syracuse University. “Most people know Luca for his later colorful work in glazed terracotta, often featuring lavish representations of fruits and vegetables. On the Cantoria we see him paying similar, close attention to intricate musical instruments and actual musical performance but in the much more challenging medium of marble. Viewers to this exhibition will marvel at these details.”

“This exhibition will offer many of our visitors the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these panels from Luca della Robbia’s stunning Cantoria,” said Michael E. Shapiro, Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr. director of the High. “We are delighted to bring them to the U.S. for the first time to share them with Atlanta and visitors to our city.”

Luca della Robbia was born in Florence, Italy, around 1400 and lived in his family’s home until his death in 1482. The Cantoria is Luca’s first documented commission, though there is evidence he worked for Lorenzo Ghiberti on the initial stages of the Gates of Paradise. Luca may also have apprenticed with Nanni di Banco and possibly worked in Donatello’s shop. Luca’s Cantoria attracted attention from both humanist writers and connoisseurs, leading him to receive other significant commissions for the cathedral complex, including marble reliefs for the Campanile, glazed terracotta lunettes over the sacristy doors, and a set of bronze doors under his Cantoria. Luca also worked for the powerful Pazzi and Medici families, for whom he provided much work in glazed terracotta, a medium he invented and popularized.