Putto with Dolphin

---

Copy of “Putto con delfino” (Putto with Dolphin) by Andrea del Verrocchio, 1479
Palazzo Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria
Florence, May 2016

“The ‘Putto with Dolphin’ (c. 1479; formerly in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, but now replaced by a copy) is at once an exquisite fountain decoration, an antique motif restated in Renaissance terms, and the clearest statement of Verrocchio’s interest in suggested movement. The child in the piece is turning; the movement is reinforced by the fish, and the suggestion of motion culminates in the actual movement of the water spouting from the dolphin’s mouth. Verrocchio also reveals his indebtedness to Desiderio in his refined treatment of the surfaces.” (The Renaissance, Encyclopædia Britannica)