A Little Boy 1455 - 1460

This marble bust of a little boy was sculpted by Desiderio da Settignano, an artist working in Florence around 1460. Desiderio was active during a period of great artistic innovation in Florence. He was part of a generation of sculptors who moved away from the more formal style of earlier artists such as Donatello, who was interested in more naturalistic and emotionally expressive forms. Desiderio’s skill lay in capturing the softness of flesh and bone in a hard material. But such naturalism had a social function too. Sculptures like this weren’t simply about aesthetics. They reflected a growing interest among wealthy Florentines in displaying their wealth and status through patronage of the arts. They also testify to the rise of individualism as a cultural value. Understanding the context in which this sculpture was made – the social and economic structures of Renaissance Florence, the history of artistic patronage, and the changing values of the time – can help us to appreciate its full significance. It's a job for the historian, using archival material and documentary sources.