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 Italian Renaissance sculpture was an important part of the art of the Italian Renaissance, in the early stages arguably representing the leading edge. The example of Ancient Roman sculpture hung very heavily over it, both in terms of style and t ...

, with a large workshop producing large and small works in bronze and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

in a late

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

style.

Biography

Giambologna was born in

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

( then and now in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

), in 1529. After youthful studies in Antwerp with the architect-sculptor

Jacques du Broeucq Jacques du Broeucq (c.1505 – c.1584) was a sculptor and architect from Southern Netherlands, who is believed to have spent c. 1530-35 in Italy. Jacques du Broeucq was born and died in Mons and is perhaps best known as the teacher of Giambologna ...

, he moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1550 and studied in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, making a detailed study of the sculpture of

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. He was also much influenced by Michelangelo, but developed his own

style, with perhaps less emphasis on emotion and more emphasis on refined surfaces, cool elegance, and beauty. Pope Pius IV 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 Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, where he had settled in 1553. In 1563 he was named a member (''Accademico'') of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, 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 Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

, becoming also one of the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

s' most important court sculptors. He died in

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 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'' (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 The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pi ...

in Florence's

Piazza della Signoria Piazza della Signoria () is a w-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is the main point of the origin and history of the Florentine Republ ...

. 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 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 Gr ...

'' was also placed in the

in 1599. Giambologna's several depictions of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

established a canon of proportions 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 ''Florence Triumphant over Pisa'' is an Italian Renaissance sculpture by Giambologna, existing in two versions, as well as a small wax modello. The first is a full-size modello in gesso (plaster) executed in 1565, still in the Palazzo Vecchio Flo ...

'' and, less overtly, '' Samson Slaying a Philistine'', for Francesco de' Medici (1562). On Michelangelo's death in 1564, Daniele da Volterra 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 Pietro Tacca (16 September 1577 – 26 October 1640) was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity. Biography Born in Ca ...

. Giambologna provided as well as many sculptures for garden grottos and fountains in the

Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( it, Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, ...

of Florence and at Pratolino, 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 th ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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 Adriaen de Vries (c.1556–1626) was a Northern Mannerist sculptor born in the Netherlands but working in Central Europe, whose international style crossed the threshold to the Baroque; he excelled in refined modelling and bronze casting and ...

and Pietro Francavilla who left his atelier for Paris in 1601, as well as

Pierre Puget Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...

who spread Giambologna's influence throughout Northern Europe, and in Italy on

, who assumed Giambologna's workshop in Florence, and in Rome on Gian Lorenzo Bernini 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 maj ...

Gallery

File:Samson slaying a philistine.jpg, '' Samson Slaying a Philistine'', about 1562 File:FloArch0.jpg, ''Architettura'', Palazzo del Bargello, 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 typicall ...

'', (1571–73),

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

, Los Angeles File:Giambologna herculesenesso.jpg, ''

Hercules 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 ...

and Nessus'', 1599,

, Florence File:Florence Triumphant over Pisa, Giambologna.jpg, ''

'', 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'',

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 The Apennine Colossus ( it, Colosso Appenninico) is a stone statue, approximately 30 m high,Morgan, Luke (2015), p.12 in the estate of the Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Tuscany in Italy. Giambologna (Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne) created the co ...

in the

Villa di 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 ...

Notes

References

External links