Boy playing the bagpipes
Figure
ca. 1490-1520 (made)
ca. 1490-1520 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This small statue of a naked boy playing the bagpipes was probably originally part of an altarpiece. This exquisitely modelled life-size figure is attributed to Andrea della Robbia, a member of a famous Florentine family of sculptors. Several large altarpieces by the Della Robbia family show similar naked boys - some of them with musical instruments - high up on the architectural framework. It is stylistically close to two winged putti on the cornice of an altarpiece supplied by Andrea della Robbia to the Church of the Santi Apostoli in Florence in 1512.
Trained as a marble sculptor in the studio of his uncle Luca, Andrea della Robbia also became an excellent modeller, unrivalled in his ability to capture the life of his subjects in glazed clay. His best-known works are 10 roundels of infants on the façade of Florence's Foundling Hospital (about 1487).
Trained as a marble sculptor in the studio of his uncle Luca, Andrea della Robbia also became an excellent modeller, unrivalled in his ability to capture the life of his subjects in glazed clay. His best-known works are 10 roundels of infants on the façade of Florence's Foundling Hospital (about 1487).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Boy playing the bagpipes (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Polychrome enamelled terracotta |
| Brief description | Figure of a boy playing the bagpipes by Andrea della Robbia, Florence, about 1490-1520 |
| Physical description | The seated boy is shown naked with the bag on his left thigh. He fingers the chanter with both hands and holds the mouthpiece in his mouth. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by HRH the Prince Consort |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This small statue of a naked boy playing the bagpipes was probably originally part of an altarpiece. This exquisitely modelled life-size figure is attributed to Andrea della Robbia, a member of a famous Florentine family of sculptors. Several large altarpieces by the Della Robbia family show similar naked boys - some of them with musical instruments - high up on the architectural framework. It is stylistically close to two winged putti on the cornice of an altarpiece supplied by Andrea della Robbia to the Church of the Santi Apostoli in Florence in 1512. Trained as a marble sculptor in the studio of his uncle Luca, Andrea della Robbia also became an excellent modeller, unrivalled in his ability to capture the life of his subjects in glazed clay. His best-known works are 10 roundels of infants on the façade of Florence's Foundling Hospital (about 1487). |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4677-1858 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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