Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small works in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and marble in a late Mannerist style.

Biography

Giambologna was born in Douai, Flanders (

then Then may refer to: * Then language, spoken in Guizhou province of China * "Then", a song on the 1970 album ''Time and a Word'' by English rock band Yes * ''Then'' (Canadian series), a 1999 compilation album released in Canada * ''Then'' (Misako ...

and now in France), in 1529. After youthful studies in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

with the architect-sculptor Jacques du Broeucq, he moved to Italy in 1550 and studied in Rome, making a detailed study of the sculpture of classical antiquity. He was also much influenced by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, but developed his own Mannerist style, with perhaps less emphasis on emotion and more emphasis on refined surfaces, cool elegance, and beauty.

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

gave Giambologna his first major commission, the colossal bronze Neptune and subsidiary figures for the Fountain of Neptune (the base designed by

Tommaso Laureti Tommaso Laureti, often called Tommaso Laureti Siciliano (c. 1530 — 22 September 1602), was an Italian painter from Sicily who trained in the atelier of the aged Sebastiano del Piombo and worked in Bologna. From 1582, he worked for papal patrons ...

, 1566) in Bologna. Giambologna spent his most productive years in Florence, where he had settled in 1553. In 1563 he was named a member (''Accademico'') of the prestigious

Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") is an academy of artists in Florence, Italy. Founded as Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy and Company of the Arts of Drawing") on 13 January 1563 by ...

, just founded by the Duke

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

, on 13 January 1563, under the influence of the painter-architect Giorgio Vasari, becoming also one of the Medicis' most important court sculptors. He died in Florence at the age of 79; the Medici had never allowed him to leave Florence, as they rightly feared that either the Austrian or Spanish

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

would entice him into permanent employment. He was interred in a chapel he designed himself in the Santissima Annunziata.

Work

Giambologna became well known for a fine sense of action and movement, and a refined, differentiated surface finish. Among his most famous works are the ''

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

'' (of which he did four versions), poised on one foot, supported by a zephyr. The god raises one arm to point heavenwards in a gesture borrowed from the repertory of classical rhetoric that is characteristic of Giambologna's style. Giambologna raptodasabina

His other most famous work is the ''Abduction of a Sabine Woman'' (1574–82), a marble sculpture which is featured prominently in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence's Piazza della Signoria. This impressive sculpture which includes three full figures was carved from a single piece of marble. Giambologna carved it without a subject in mind, and the name ''Abduction of a Sabine Woman'' was given after it was in place in the Loggia. The sculpture was produced for Francesco de’ Medici,

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

of Tuscany. Another of his marbles, ''

Hercules Slaying a Centaur Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the G ...

'' was also placed in the Loggia dei Lanzi in 1599. Giambologna's several depictions of Venus established a

canon of proportions An artistic canon of body proportions (or aesthetic canon of proportion), in the sphere of visual arts, is a formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art. The word ''canon'' () was first us ...

for the female figure, and set reference models for representation of the goddess that were influential for two generations of sculptors in Italy and Northern Europe. He created allegories strongly promoting Medicean political propaganda, such as '' Florence Triumphant over Pisa'' and, less overtly, ''

Samson Slaying a Philistine __NOTOC__ ''Samson Slaying a Philistine'' is a marble sculpture by Giambologna, executed ''c.'' 1562, the earliest of his great marble groups of the sculptor to the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, and the only substantial work by the artist to ha ...

'', for

Francesco de' Medici Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici. Biography Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici ...

(1562). On Michelangelo's death in 1564,

Daniele da Volterra Daniele Ricciarelli (; 15094 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra (, ), was a Mannerist Italian painter and sculptor. He is best remembered for his association with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works ...

created several busts of the sculptor from his death mask. After Volterra died in 1566, one of these busts was delivered to Giambologna, who around 1570 sculpted a clothed upper torso for the bust. The equestrian statue of

, also in Florence, was completed by his studio assistant Pietro Tacca. Giambologna provided as well as many sculptures for garden grottos and fountains in the Boboli Gardens of Florence and at

Pratolino The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1822. Its remains are now part of the Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna. History Th ...

, and the bronze doors of the

cathedral of Pisa Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...

. He created the bronze sea-horses and some other sculptures for Bartolomeo Ammannati's

Fountain of Neptune, Florence The ''Fountain of Neptune in Florence, Italy,'' ( it, Fontana del Nettuno) is situated in the Piazza della Signoria (Signoria square), in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The fountain was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1559 to celebrate the ...

. For the grotto of the Villa Medicea of Castello he sculpted a series of studies of individual animals, from life, which may now be viewed at the Bargello. Small bronze reductions of many of his sculptures were prized by connoisseurs at the time and ever since, for Giambologna's reputation has never suffered eclipse. Giambologna was an important influence on later sculptors through his pupils Adriaen de Vries and

Pietro Francavilla Pierre Franqueville, generally called Pietro Francavilla (1548 — 25 August 1615), was a Franco-Flemish sculptor trained in Florence, who provided sculpture for Italian and French patrons in the elegant Late Mannerist tradition established by ...

who left his atelier for Paris in 1601, as well as Pierre Puget who spread Giambologna's influence throughout Northern Europe, and in Italy on Pietro Tacca, who assumed Giambologna's workshop in Florence, and in Rome on

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

and

Alessandro Algardi Alessandro Algardi (July 31, 1598 – June 10, 1654) was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome, where for the latter decades of his life, he was, along with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona, one of the major ...

Gallery

File:Samson slaying a philistine.jpg, ''

'', about 1562 File:FloArch0.jpg, ''Architettura'',

Palazzo del Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...

, 1565, Florence. This sculpture exemplifies the long limbs of Giambologna's influential ideal female type. File:Giambologna Female Figure.jpg, ''

Female Figure Female body shape or female figure is the cumulative product of a woman's skeletal structure and the quantity and distribution of muscle and fat on the body. There is a wide range of normality of female body shapes. Female figures are typical ...

'', (1571–73), J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles File:Giambologna herculesenesso.jpg, '' Hercules and Nessus'', 1599, Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence File:Florence Triumphant over Pisa, Giambologna.jpg, '' Florence Triumphant over Pisa'', 1565,

Museo Nazionale del Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...

, Florence. (Maquette in clay in the Victoria and Albert Museum) File:Bathing Venus statue in Buontalenti Grotto, Boboli Gardens, Florence.jpg, ''Bathing Venus'', 1573, ''Buontalenti Grotto'', Boboli Gardens, Florence File:Horse MET DP-606-001 (cropped).jpg, Horse by Giambologna (workshop), probably around 1590. 10 inches (25 cm) high. File:Gigante dell'Appennino del Giambologna.jpg, Apennine Colossus in the Villa di Pratolino

Notes

References

External links