Funerary Monument of Carlo Marsuppini: a putto

The shield-bearing putto had appeared in the small bronzes on the bishop's crozier of Donatello's admirable Saint Louis of Toulouse, a Hellenistic motif recreated by the observation of nature in its vital immediacy. Desiderio has here individualized the motif and imbued it with psychological nuances. He lifts the naturalness of Donatello to a plane of subtle intimacy.