Model Number: S 120
Modeled c.1900 by Arthur Lange after a drawing by Maurice Sand, 1860.

Commedia dell’arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters that emerged in northern Italy in the fifteenth century and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe. Each character of the commedia evolved a distinct set of attributes -characteristic speech, gestures, props, and costume that became standard to the portrayal of the character.

Theater historian Maurice Sand, son of the famous French writer Georges Sand, was personally acquainted with Wilhelm Romanus Andresen, one of the main sculptors at Meissen at that time, and gave him his engravings of Commedia dell’Arte characters that he created in 1860. Andresen started working on the first models of the series based on Sand’s engravings, and in the following years 6 other Meissen sculptors created the other models. In 1900, the Meissen manufacture presented the 12 new figures at an international exhibition in Paris.

Stenterello represents the Florentine people of low social background, who manage to overcome adversity with a smile on their lips and humour at the ready, always finding the strength to laugh and make jokes. A man of great irony, with a costume that reflects his character.