Editing Terracotta (section)

===Europe===
[[File:Terracotta statuette of a draped woman MET DP117152.jpg|thumb| [[Greek terracotta figurine]] or [[Tanagra figurine]], 2nd century BCE; height: 29.2&nbsp;cm]]

The [[Ancient Greek]]s' [[Tanagra figurines]] were mass-produced mold-cast and fired terracotta figurines, that seem to have been widely affordable in the [[Hellenistic period]], and often purely decorative in function. They were part of a wide range of [[Greek terracotta figurines]], which included larger and higher-quality works such as the [[Aphrodite Heyl]]; the Romans too made great numbers of small figurines, which were often used in a religious context as cult statues or temple decorations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Richardson|first=Emeline Hill|date=1953|title=The Etruscan Origins of Early Roman Sculpture|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4238630|journal=Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome|volume=21|pages=75–124|doi=10.2307/4238630| jstor=4238630 |issn=0065-6801}}</ref> [[Etruscan art]] often used terracotta in preference to stone even for larger statues, such as the near life-size [[Apollo of Veii]] and the ''[[Sarcophagus of the Spouses]]''. [[Campana reliefs]] are Ancient Roman terracotta [[relief]]s, originally mostly used to make [[frieze]]s for the outside of buildings, as a cheaper substitute for stone.

[[File:Clodion River Rhine Kimbell.jpg|thumb|''The River Rhine Separating the Waters''; by [[Claude Michel]]; 1765; terracotta; 27.9 × 45.7 × 30.5&nbsp;cm; [[Kimbell Art Museum]] ([[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], [[Texas]], US)]]

European [[medieval art]] made little use of terracotta sculpture, until the late 14th century, when it became used in advanced [[International Gothic]] workshops in parts of Germany.<ref>Schultz, 67-68</ref>  The Virgin illustrated at the start of the article from [[Bohemia]] is the unique example known from there.<ref name="MoMA"/>  A few decades later, there was a revival in the [[Italian Renaissance]], inspired by [[Archaeological excavation|excavated]] classical terracottas as well as the German examples, which gradually spread to the rest of Europe.  In [[Florence]], [[Luca della Robbia]] (1399/1400–1482) was a sculptor who founded a family dynasty specializing in glazed and painted terracotta, especially large roundels which were used to decorate the exterior of churches and other buildings.  These used the same techniques as contemporary [[maiolica]] and other [[tin-glazed pottery]].  Other sculptors included [[Pietro Torrigiano]] (1472–1528), who produced statues, and in England busts of the Tudor royal family. The unglazed busts of the Roman Emperors adorning [[Hampton Court Palace]], by [[Giovanni da Maiano]], 1521, were another example of Italian work in England.<ref>Grove, "Florence"</ref> They were originally painted but this has now been lost from weathering.

In the 18th-century unglazed terracotta, which had long been used for preliminary clay models or [[maquette]]s that were then fired, became fashionable as a material for small sculptures including portrait busts.  It was much easier to work than carved materials, and allowed a more spontaneous approach by the artist.<ref>Draper and Scherf, 2-7 and throughout; Grove, 2, i, a and c</ref> [[Claude Michel]] (1738–1814), known as [[Clodion]], was an influential pioneer in [[France]].<ref>Well covered in Draper and Scherf, see index; Grove, 2, i, a and c</ref> [[John Michael Rysbrack]] (1694–1770), a Flemish portrait sculptor working in England, sold his terracotta ''[[modelli]]'' for larger works in stone, and produced busts only in terracotta.<ref>Grove, 2, i, c</ref>  In the next century the French sculptor [[Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse]] made many terracotta pieces,<ref>Grove, 2, i, d</ref> but possibly the most famous is ''[[The Abduction of Hippodameia]]'' depicting the Greek mythological scene of a centaur kidnapping Hippodameia on her wedding day.