A style in sculpture and painting that came to dominate the art of the mid-14th century in Tuscany. It is characterized by the use of refined, elegant figures that exhibit a certain sweetness. The greatest exponent of this style was Desiderio da Settignano who often depicted the tenderness shared by the Virgin and her son, or smiling figures. An example is his Virgin and Child (c. 1460) in the Philadelphia Museum, a relief that captures a playful, intimate moment between the characters depicted. Antonio Rossellino, who like Desiderio was a native of Settignano, adopted the Sweet Style, as exemplified by his smiling Madonna and Child and gentle angels who gaze at the Cardinal of Portugal in his tomb (1460-1466) at San Miniato, Florence. Alesso Baldovinetti translated the Sweet Style from sculpture into painting. His Virgin and Child (c. 1460) in the Louvre, Paris, presents a smiling Madonna with the customary delicate features of this mode.
See also Tomb of the cardinal of Portugal, San Miniato, Florence.
Historical dictionary of Renaissance art. Lilian H. Zirpolo. 2008.