Sleeping Youth

The sleeping youth, perhaps meant to be Endymion, is in a reclining position midway between sitting and lying. There is an interplay here between relaxation and the kind of physical tension that might be prompted by a dream. Marked muscular contractions lend the body a dynamic plasticity. In all likelihood, the terracotta figure was a study intended only for workshop purposes. In a fascinating way, it combines a detailed study of human anatomy with the well-developed sense of style of a virtuoso artist. Verrocchio, the most important Florentine sculptor in the second half of the fifteenth century, was the teacher of Leonardo da Vinci.