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Putto with a Dolphin

Putto with a Dolphin is a bronze sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio, made between about 1475 and 1481. The work is conserved at the center of the old well square in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. The source text notes that Leonardo da Vinci is believed to have taken part in its creation. This sculpture, also referred to in French as Le Petit Ange au dauphin, is one of Verrocchio’s notable bronze works and remains in its historic Florentine setting.

Bronze putto with a dolphin, the winged child poised on one foot atop a small base.
Putto with a Dolphin, a bronze sculpture of a winged child balancing with a dolphin-like figure.
October 2007 © · CC BY 2.5
Bronze Putto with a Dolphin sculpture displayed on a white plinth in a glass case.
Putto with a Dolphin, shown here as a bronze sculpture in a museum display case.
April 2019 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bronze Putto with Dolphin sculpture of a winged child holding a dolphin on a pedestal, with its shadow cast on the wall.
Putto with Dolphin, a bronze sculpture of a winged child holding a dolphin, shown on a decorative pedestal.
June 2009 © · CC BY 2.5
Back view of Putto with a Dolphin bronze sculpture, showing the winged figure, curled hair, drapery, and the dolphin’s tail.
The back of Andrea del Verrocchio’s Putto with a Dolphin, with the winged figure and dolphin tail visible.
March 2019 © · CC BY 3.0
A winged putto standing on a dolphin and holding a vessel, painted within a decorative niche.
Putto with a Dolphin depicted in a painted architectural niche with an ornate pedestal.
November 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitlePutto with a Dolphin
Typebronze sculpture and fountain sculpture
French titleLe Petit Ange au dauphin

Historical context

Datec. 1470 (proposed dates range from 1465–1468 to 1480; also described as between about 1475 and 1481)

Creator

ArtistAndrea del Verrocchio
Attribution noteLeonardo da Vinci is said to have participated in its creation

Discovery and provenance

First recorded nameil bambino di bronzo (the bronze child)
Earliest documented mention1495 list by Tommaso Verrocchi of works made by Andrea for the Medici
Original intended locationFountain at the villa of Careggi
Possible associationPossibly the Fountain of Love (fontana dell'Amore)
PatronageAccording to Vasari, commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici in person; some scholars instead link it to a wish of Piero de' Medici
Base hypothesisAccording to Seymour, the original base may be in a fountain at Palazzo Pitti, where an elegiac distich probably alludes to Piero

Physical characteristics

Height67 cm

Materials

MaterialBronze

Appearance

Drapery treatmentThe mantle clings to the back
Hair treatmentA wet tuft of hair sticks to the forehead
Object heldA dolphin, stylized as a large fish in the period's conventions
PoseA smiling dancing putto in precarious balance
Depicted figureWinged putto with a childlike expression

Style

Artistic influenceDynamic naturalism learned from Desiderio da Settignano
Formal effectThe sculptor transformed the material into soft, smooth forms

Iconography and meaning

SubjectA putto strangling a fish or dolphin
Subject sourceDerived from antiquity but reinterpreted

Function

Original functionPart of a fountain; water came out of the dolphin's mouth and nostrils, sprayed upward, and fell back down

Location and ownership

Current locationPalazzo Vecchio, Florence
Current positionCenter of the former well square at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

History and restoration

Later placementBetween 1550 and 1568, during Cosimo I de' Medici's renovation of Palazzo Vecchio, the statue was placed at the center of the first courtyard
Palazzo Vecchio functionIt crowned a fountain designed by Giorgio Vasari
Conservation statusIn 1959 the work was moved to the second floor of the palace for protection; a copy was placed in situ
DerivativeA terracotta version, probably by Verrocchio himself, now in a private collection

Significance

ContextAssociated with Medici patronage and with the Neo-Platonic circle at Careggi