Description
The young sculptor Franz Anton Bustelli, 1754-63 at Nymphenburg, created the sixteen ladies and gentlemen of the group Commedia dell’arte. (Commedia dell’arte was an early form of professional theatre originating from Italy and popular in Europe during the 16th/17th century). One of the novel aspects of Bustelli’s sixteen figures is that they were conceived as eight pairs. Linking the characters as they were customarily paired on the stage, Bustelli modelled the figures of each couple so that their poses and gestures reflected a specific interaction between them, with each couple communicating through gesture.
These are considered one of the most important works of the German Rococo period and made the Nymphenburg factory world famous.
https://www.nymphenburg.com/de-gb/pages/franz-anton-bustelli