Putto

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Like his contemporaries, German sculptor Hans Peiser typically carved figures such as this one in wood to prepare for larger, finished works in bronze. During the Renaissance, artists revived the ancient Roman motif of small male nudes, called putti , which symbolized gaiety, youth, and innocence. Peiser incorporated these frolicking figures into the city fountains he designed in the 1550s. This example closely resembles the statue of a triumphant putto that crowns the fountain in front of Nuremberg’s city hall.

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