( fl Florence, late 15th century or early 16th). Italian sculptor. Conventional name for the sculptor of two stylistically coherent groups of statuettes produced in terracotta and in some numbers, under the influence of Verrocchio. The group of statuettes of David are characterized by elaborately decorated, pseudo-Roman armour reminiscent of that shown on Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise and are derived from Verrocchio’s bronze statue of David (c. 1475; Florence, Bargello). They have the left elbow bent, the right arm hanging down with a sword in its hand, and Goliath’s head between the feet. The other group, which is stylistically related and appears with minor variations and in some numbers, comprises statuettes of the Young St John the Baptist, who is shown seated on some rocks in the desert. Classic examples of both compositions are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; a nude St Sebastian in the same collection also appears to originate from the same workshop, together with a superior version located in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Leipzig. All the statuettes are highly detailed and partially hollowed out for firing, while some bear traces of polychromy; these features indicate that they were not bozzetti but finished statuettes, produced commercially for domestic altars or as interior decoration, for example to be displayed on mantelpieces.

Part of the Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists family

• David and St John Statuettes, Master of the
  • Montelupo, da: (1) Baccio da Montelupo
  • Terracotta, §II, 2(i)(b): History and uses in the Western world: Sculpture, before the 17th century
  • Torrigiani, Pietro, §1(i): Italy and Avignon, to 1506