The Master of the Unruly Children

Provenance:
Heirs of the Zalum family, Florence (probably Villa Gamberaia).

The Master of the Unruly Children was active in Florence in the first half of 16th century, possibly a close collaborator of Niccolò Tribolo but stylistically close to Michelangelo and Giovan Francesco Rustici. He specialized in terracotta sculptures of small dimensions, a genre reborn in mid 15th-century Florence and pioneered by Lorenzo Ghiberti during his work on the baptistery doors, since the use of clay was central to the production of bronzes and could also be moulded to replicate images which when fired, painted and gilded, provided an inexpensive alternative to more costly materials, such as marble and bronze.