Brucciani & Co. (before 1900)
‘Putti’ are depictions of naked children in Italian renaissance art. These are two of the innocents—abandoned or orphaned children—from the Ospidale degli Innocenti (Foundling Hospital) in Florence. The oval forms differ from the original pieces—round tondi—that were produced in the 1470s in blue-and-white glazed terracotta. The children on the building’s façade were made by Andrea della Robbia, whose uncle, Luca della Robbia, had originated this glazing technique .
Photo courtesy of https://www.unicef-irc.org/history_of_innocenti/
Click here for the final stop on our trail.
This post is part of Beyond the Ure, a sculpture trail around the Edith Morley Building at the University of Reading.