The Musician Angel by Rosso Fiorentino

A tender and "clumsy" little angel, intent on plucking the strings of a musical instrument larger than himself...

The small panel by Rosso Fiorentino, dated 1521, is a piece of a dismembered and lost altarpiece, as shown by reflectographic surveys that have also revealed, under the dark background's surface, a signature that records the name of the same painter, though it is probably not original.

An original reinterpretation of a traditional subject (as is evident, for instance, in Raphael's Sistine Madonna) made particularly vivid by a highly modern painting that is the distinguishing feature of Rosso Fiorentino's style.
An artist of undisputed personality in the panorama of the new generation of young painters following Michelangelo.