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Of the busts of children created in the fifteenth-century, some seem to be portraits but others definitely represent the young Christ or St John. There are at least three marble busts of Desiderio. The famous Laughing Boy has a casual quality, with a modulation of light and movement. The portrayal of the boy, his tongue up against the roof of his mouth in spontaneous laughter, captures the essence of childhood. The sculpture cannot represent Christ or St John.
Like the best artists of his generation, Desiderio rediscovered children as a central subject for sacred and profane sculpture by way of Donatello. The Laughing Boy stands out from all contemporary busts for its profound sense of mirth, which makes it almost a character study, anticipating Leonardo da Vinci and the three centuries of art that followed him.
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