Two Putti Supporting a Torch

1650/1700

Flemish

In this terracotta sculpture, a pouting putto and his companion flank an elaborate candelabra with a lit torch. The surfaces of the fleshy baby bodies and architectural elements retain the striations and marks of the sculptor’s tools, an indication that this work was not a finished product. Artists considered terracotta, a type of ceramic characterized by its reddish-brown color, an ideal medium for models. Such models served as guides for their assistants to begin the final version, in this case likely an element of a larger sculptural ensemble.

Status: On View, Gallery 208
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Title: Two Putti Supporting a Torch
Place: Netherlands (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1620–1640
Medium: Terracotta on slate
Dimensions: 35.2 × 27.9 × 7.3 cm (13 7/8 × 11 × 2 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. John Golitz; through prior bequest of Hans G. Cahen
Reference Number: 1987.2
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/93280/manifest.json

Galerie Bellanger, Paris, by 1986 [according to letters from Patrice Bellanger to Ian Wardropper, August – November 1986, in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1987.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.