Putto with Dolphin
by VERROCCHIO, Andrea del, Bronze, height 125 cm
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.