VERROCCHIO, Andrea del
(b. 1435, Firenze, d. 1488, Venezia)

Putto with Dolphin

c. 1470
Bronze, height 125 cm
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Verrocchio designed this sculpture with multiple points of view for a fountain at the Medici villa at Careggi. It is an early example of the resuscitation of the ancient fountain, with water issuing from a spout in the dolphin's mouth. The putto poses in a precarious but graceful arabesque on top of a partial sphere, his body turned in gentle contrapposto.