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This terracotta shows a young boy of about ten years who has fallen asleep in an upright position. His right hand cradles his lolling head, while the left arm hides in drapery.
This work is one of the three known works executed by Roland in Rome where he was applying himself to rigorous study of antique art. Ancient sculptures of sleeping boys may have served the artist as a precedent.
The direct modeling of the clay makes it apparent that the terracotta was a study for a finished work. One was, in fact, carved in marble in 1774.
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