SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE, MILANO

One of the most seen works of Marcello Minotto, is certainly the ‘Four Frogs’ which adorn the fountain of the Bramante cloister, in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano.
It is not only a place of beauty, but it is the same place where you can find the fresco of ‘The Last Supper’ by Leonardo da Vinci.
The ‘Four Frogs’ were cast in bronze and they almost look alive, as if they are ready to jump into the fountain.
Marcello Minotto went into the ditches of the Naviglio in Milano, to catch the frogs so that they could become ‘’models’’…and these, as his daughter Anna recounts, were very much alive and they started to jump and croak and hide under the other art work in  the workshop, creating  disarray and  great hilarity!
The frog theme has always fascinated Marcello Minotto, who has in fact created other frogs, in various sizes in gold and silver.