 After Giambologna (born Flanders,
active Italy, 1529–1608) The Rape of a Sabine, after 1582 Bronze Purchased with funds derived from gifts of Mrs. Phillip
E. Spalding, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore A. Cooke, Mr. and
Mrs. Walter F. Dillingham, Robert Allerton, Anna Rice
Cooke, Mrs. C. C. Kennedy, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter
F. Child, and with Academy funds, 1981 (4977.1) Giambologna is widely recognized as one of the most
influential sculptors of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Under the patronage of the powerful and wealthy
Medici family, he created a variety of sculptures, from
large-scale marble statue groups to bronze
reproductions of his most popular works, an example
of which is on view here. Scaled-down replicas of the
popular Rape of a Sabine were as important to
disseminating Giambologna’s talents as were the
original masterpieces, since the hollow bronze
sculptures could be easily transported throughout
Europe. The Medicis often presented works like this
one as diplomatic gifts for heads of state.
The title of this work, Rape of a Sabine, was not
determined until after the original was completed in
1582, which indicates that Giambologna was more
interested in the study of the human form in three
dimensions than in the precise depiction of a scene
from ancient history |