The Fountain of Bacchus

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The Fountain of Bacchus (IT. Fontana del Bacchino), also known as the Fontanella del Nano Morgante, is a large marble sculpture (height, 116cm)  located in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, in the area north-west of the Pitti Palace. The fountain was sculpted in 1560 by the sculptor Valerio Cioli and made to represent Braccio di Bartolo, the court dwarf most loved by Cosimo I de' Medici. The obese dwarf was depicted as naked and drunk with wine, riding on a turtle in the guise of Bacchus (hence the name of the fountain). From the mouth of the turtle would spray water into the marble basin below the sculpture. The work is exemplary of the grotesque style which was vogue in the mannerist gardens of the 16th - 17th centuries where it would be commonplace to depict mishapen subjects or monsters with great refinement, as to react to the idyllic style of the Renaissance, rediscovering the sense of the fantastic, caricature and satire. The original sculpture was moved to inside the Pitti Palace, the cast (scanned) is now on display where the original once was.