"Annunciation" by Andrea della Robbia in terracotta

Nephew of Luca della Robbia, or son of his brother Marco, he was like him specialized in the technique of glazed polychrome ceramic, invented by his uncle.

He brought the art of glazed terracotta to great diffusion, soon becoming the head of the workshop inherited from his uncle Luca, who was also an adoptive father for him due to the early death of Marco, which occurred in 1448. His training was made very precocious from living together, from a young age, with his famous predecessor, unlike whom he was inspired more by contemporary painting than by sculpture, like the workshop of Verrocchio and his pupils.

In 1458 he qualified as an engraver and began to become operationally independent of Luca's workshop with which, however, he continued to collaborate for at least a decade. Andrea's artistic rise produced friction in the relationship with his uncle who, in 1471, decided to exclude him from his testamentary inheritance.

From his marriage, which took place in 1465, with Giovanna di Piero he had twelve children, among whom five undertook a sculptural career; the most talented was Giovanni della Robbia who successfully continued the activity of the family workshop.

Source Wikipedia