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Giovanni da Bologna

1529-1608 Italy/Mannerism

 

Brief Biography-Giovanni da Bologna, Giambologna or Jean de Boulogne, was born in Douai. In 1555 he went to Italy, spending two years in Rome before settling in Florence, where most of his works remain. His career took off with a commission from Pope Pius IV for the Neptune Fountain in Bologna, and he won commissions from several cities, including Madrid, Genoa, Paris, and Pisa. His career peaked with the Rape of the Sabines sculpture at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence and his Bronze statue, the Flying Mercury. However, his most striking work is the giant statue of the mountain god Appenine in the Pratolino Medici Park, which stands ten metres high. Giovanni da Bologna was rated second to Michelangelo as a sculptor until the nineteenth century.

 

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appenine

appenine

florence triumphant
over pisa

florence triumphant over pisa by Giovanni da Bologna

fountain
of neptune

fountain of neptune

hercules and the
centaur

hercules and the centaur


mercury

mercury

rape of
a sabine

rape of a sabine

samson and a
philistine

samson and a philistine


venus

venus