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This small gilt bronze, depicting a seated putto with one arm raised in a moment of suspended movement, fits squarely within the tradition of bronze liturgical ornamentation that flourished in Rome at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its dynamic posture, the dense and expressive modeling of the flesh, the subtly off-balance twist of the muscular torso, and the thickly rendered curls framing the face all point to a well-established source: the four putti adorning the monumental altar cross created by Jacob Cornelisz Cobaert, now housed in the Palazzo di Venezia in Rome.
Likely produced within the immediate circle of the artist or his workshop, this figure was probably intended for inclusion in another altar ensemble or to circulate independently among collectors of sacred objects.
A Flemish sculptor active in Rome and trained under Guglielmo della Porta, Cobaert belonged to that pivotal generation just preceding Bernini—artists who played a key role in the profound transformation of sculptural language toward the Baroque. In this work, the restrained tension of the volumes and the acute sense of a gesture held in suspension herald a new theatricality that anticipates the full expressive power of the high Baroque. Whereas Bernini would soon exalt movement, Cobaert captures the instant just before it unfolds: one seizes ecstasy, the other, the pause before it ignites.
Within the Roman context of the time, gilt bronze became a favored material for altar commissions—crosses, angels bearing instruments of the Passion, narrative reliefs—objects that, while serving liturgical purposes, also embodied the opulent spirituality characteristic of post-Tridentine Catholicism.
This figure, rare and finely executed, offers direct evidence of that moment. It reflects not only the circulation of sculptural motifs within Roman workshops, but also a particular appreciation for small-scale devotional bronzes capable—through their expressive power—of evoking an entire iconographic universe. A nearly identical example appeared on the Italian art market in 2018, confirming the success of this composition. Yet it is the present work’s quality of invention, modeling, and finish that sets it apart, marking it as an exceptional and eloquent witness to the refinement of Roman bronze sculpture at the dawn of the Baroque.
