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Lot Essay
The bronze is solid cast, and appears to be unique. Donatello is generally credited with the invention of putti in their Renaissance manifestation, deriving them from ancient prototypes, but he infused them with great liveliness of spirit. Donatello had worked in Padua from 1443, where his extraordinary creativity was a major influence, and the use of putti were taken up in innumerable guises by his contemporaries in the city.
The present bronze is reminiscent of the creations of Andrea Riccio, who was taught by Donatello’s pupil Bartolomeo Bellano. The playful putti on the Paschal Candlestick (Basilica of San Antonio, Padua) share the same rounded form, waxy surface and sense of motion. The modelling is also similar to Riccio’s Winged Putto in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A.3-1972), albeit there are clear differences in the minute workings of the locks of hair in the present bronze. Camins suggested the author of our bronze was close to the Venetian sculptor Antonio Lombardo (c.1458-1516), who would have witnessed Riccio’s work at San Antonio first hand, or even the elusive Veronese medalist Moderno (1467-1528).
The present bronze is reminiscent of the creations of Andrea Riccio, who was taught by Donatello’s pupil Bartolomeo Bellano. The playful putti on the Paschal Candlestick (Basilica of San Antonio, Padua) share the same rounded form, waxy surface and sense of motion. The modelling is also similar to Riccio’s Winged Putto in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A.3-1972), albeit there are clear differences in the minute workings of the locks of hair in the present bronze. Camins suggested the author of our bronze was close to the Venetian sculptor Antonio Lombardo (c.1458-1516), who would have witnessed Riccio’s work at San Antonio first hand, or even the elusive Veronese medalist Moderno (1467-1528).