Dancing Putti

Donatello, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)

Artist: Donatello
Firenze 1386/1387 – 1466 Firenze

Giuseppe Lelli
(cast maker)
Firenze
Dated: 1428–1438 (original), 1907 (cast)
Classification: relief, plaster cast
Medium: plaster cast
Dimensions: 98 × 78 × 12 cm fragment (MKE): 78 × 97 × 12 cm
Inv.no.: Rg.176
Department: Sculptures - Plaster casts
Current Location of the Original Artwork: Italy, Prato, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
Location: National Museum Conservation and Storage Centre (Budapest), Building A, Ground Floor. European Architectural Sculpture. Selection from the Cast Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. Visible Storage

In 1428, Donatello and Michelozzo (1396–1472) were jointly commissioned to make the exterior pulpit of Prato Cathedral. Michelozzo created the architectural structure of the pulpit, while Donatello designed and carved its ornamentation. The seven reliefs decorating the pulpit – plaster casts of two were commissioned by the Museum of Fine Arts – depict putti dancing and playing instruments. The carvings are probably based on Psalm 150 and show angels praising God in the celestial sphere. The enraptured dancing figures might have been inspired by reliefs on Roman sarcophagi since Donatello visited Rome several times in this period, where he had the opportunity to study antique sculpture.