The sculpture of the day that I propose to you today is Samson and the Philistine: a marble work sculpted by Giambologna and kept in England, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The sculptural group was commissioned from the Flemish artist Jean de Boulognebetter known as Giambologna, in 1562 by Francesco I de’ Medici to decorate the fountain located near the Casino di San Marco, in Florencedesigned by Buontalenti.
Giambologna sculpted the biblical hero Samson whose deeds are narrated in the book of Judges. In this case he uses the supernatural strength granted to him by God to kill one of the Philistines who had provoked him, using a donkey’s jawbone.
The sculptural group is made from a single block of marble.
The spiral movement of the two bodies which seem to be a continuation of each other are a ploy to invite the observer to go around the work without having a privileged point of view.
In the pose of the two figures it is evident how much Gambologna may have been inspired by my sculptural groups and the frescoes of the Last Judgment.
You know, I had the opportunity to meet this artist in Rome when I was already over seventy.
But how did this sculpture get made for Francesco I de’ Medici in the collections of Victoria & Albert Museum?
The large sculpture arrived in Spain as a precious gift and located in the city of Valladolid, in Palacio de la Ribera.
Subsequently, in 1623, the Prince of Wales who later ascended the throne of England as Charles Ihe was in the Iberian peninsula to negotiate a marriage contract and the transfer of the work was proposed to him.
Soon the sculpture was delivered to the Duke of Buckingham and subsequently it changed owners several times until it entered the prestigious collection where it still stands today, in 1954.
For the moment, your always Michelangelo Buonarroti greets you and will meet you in the next posts and on social media.
The sculpture of the day that I propose to you today is Samson and the Philistine: a marble work sculpted by Giambologna and kept in England, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The sculptural group was commissioned to the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne, better known as Giambologna, in 1562 by Francesco I de’ Medici to decorate the fountain located at the Casino di San Marco, in Florence, designed by Buontalenti.
Giambologna sculpted the biblical hero Samson whose deeds are narrated in the book of Judges. In this case he uses the supernatural strength granted to him by God to kill one of the Philistines who had provoked him, using a donkey’s jawbone.
The sculptural group is made from a single block of marble.
The spiral movement of the two bodies which seem to be a continuation of each other are a ploy to invite the observer to go around the work without having a privileged point of view.
In the pose of the two figures it is evident how much Gambologna may have been inspired by my sculptural groups and the frescoes of the Last Judgment.
You know, I had the opportunity to meet this artist in Rome when I was already over seventy.
But how did this sculpture created for Francesco I de’ Medici end up in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum?
The large sculpture arrived in Spain as a precious gift and placed in the city of Valladolid, in Palacio de la Ribera.
Subsequently, in 1623, the Prince of Wales who subsequently ascended the throne of England as Charles I, was in the Iberian peninsula to negotiate a marriage contract and the transfer of the work was proposed to him.
Shortly thereafter the sculpture was delivered to the Duke of Buckingham and subsequently changed owners several times until it entered the prestigious collection where it still stands today, in 1954.
For the moment, your always Michelangelo Buonarroti greets you and will meet you in the next posts and on social media.
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