Florence (Italy) - Giambologna's 1583 statue "The Rape of the Sabine Women", in the Loggia dei Lanzi (1382), across from the Palazzo Vecchio
Just in case you didn't know that sexual violence and #MeToo have been with us for a long time, this statute commemorates the early Romans' stealing of wives from a neighboring people.
The "Blue Guide" says that this was Giambologna's last work and describes it as "one of the most successful Mannerist sculptures." The Doring Kindersley guide to Florence & Tuscany adds the further detail that it was carved from a single flawed block of marble. The "single block of marble" point is clearly correct, but the "flawed" part sounds suspiciously like a similar story about Michelangelo's David.
Another fun fact: Giambologna was actually from Flanders; his original name was "Johannes of Boulogne." But he worked in Florence as court sculptor to the Medici Duke Cosimo I for many years.
Florence (Italy) - Giambologna's 1583 statue "The Rape of the Sabine Women", in the Loggia dei Lanzi (1382), across from the Palazzo Vecchio
Just in case you didn't know that sexual violence and #MeToo have been with us for a long time, this statute commemorates the early Romans' stealing of wives from a neighboring people.
The "Blue Guide" says that this was Giambologna's last work and describes it as "one of the most successful Mannerist sculptures." The Doring Kindersley guide to Florence & Tuscany adds the further detail that it was carved from a single flawed block of marble. The "single block of marble" point is clearly correct, but the "flawed" part sounds suspiciously like a similar story about Michelangelo's David.
Another fun fact: Giambologna was actually from Flanders; his original name was "Johannes of Boulogne." But he worked in Florence as court sculptor to the Medici Duke Cosimo I for many years.