# African Court Jester [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MOCHI, Orazio]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Bronze, golden patina under a reddish-brown lacquer, height 18 cm ## Commentary African Court Jester c. 1600 Bronze, golden patina under a reddish-brown lacquer, height 18 cm Walters Art Museum, Baltimore This statuette is wonderful for the expressiveness of the modeling and the figure's powerful physique, so clearly influenced by Michelangelo's monumental marbles, the Slaves. Mochi has created an astonishingly empathetic representation of a powerfully-built black African male who serves as a court entertainer \(identified by his hooded tunic and fringed over-garment\), perhaps as a boxer or wrestler. His hand to the head and anguished facial expression may well be intended to convey his struggles with his fate. ## Related artworks - [Cosimo II de' Medici before an Altar]() - [Saccomazzone Players]() - [St Jude]() - [St Simon]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()