A History Of The Statue/Narrative Story Of Giambologna

History of the Statue/Narrative Story of the Content:

Giambologna was commissioned to create a piece for the Loggia, or open-air gallery, by the Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici in 1574. Giambologna's third major work, it is perceived to be one of the greatest sculptures ever. It represented the climax of his career as a figure sculptor, uniting three figures into a single spiral composition. The actual theme of the finished statue was not determined until shortly before its installation in the Loggia dei Lanzi, in the centre of Florence. It was then that Giambologna finally decided that it should illustrate the legendary "Rape of the Sabines", an event from early Roman mythology, when Romulus and his male followers were anxiously seeking wives

The three figures here represent a Sabine woman reaching heavenward for salvation from the young Roman kidnapper who stands astride a cowering, helpless older Sabine man, possibly the father of the woman. As the story goes, after the city of Rome was founded in 750 B.C.E., the male population of the city was in need of women to ensure both the success of the city and the propagation of Roman lineage. After failed negotiations with the neighboring town of Sabine for their women, the Roman men devised a scheme to abduct the Sabine women (which they did during a summer festival). What we see in Giambologna’s sculpture is the moment when a Roman successfully captures a Sabine woman as he marches over a Sabine male who crouches down in defeat. As a note, the sculpture is also referred to as the Rapito of a Sabine Woman, which can lead to confusion over the subject. In Latin, the word rapito means “abduction” (and in Italian, the verb rapire means “to abduct,” thus the title Abduction of a Sabine Woman is technically more correct than the Rape of a Sabine Woman, which has explicit connotations of sexual violence. In many accounts, there was not sexual violence, but rather a variety of enticements by the

Regarded as a technical as well as a creative masterpiece, the statue combines the classical nude forms of Greek sculpture with the dynamism of Mannerism. The Rape of the Sabine Women perfectly expresses the deep uncertainties of the late 16th century, in complete contrast to the calm confidence exuded by the High Renaissance statue of David. In their different ways, these two works represent the very best of Renaissance sculpture of the cinquecento. The actual statue, 13 feet 5 inches tall, is made from a single block of marble. It depicts three figures: at the base of the statue, an older bearded nude man kneels on the ground, his left arm raised in self-defence; a second younger nude male, who stands astride the kneeling man, holds a struggling nude woman in his strong arms. The kneeling man represents the weak elderly husband of the young Sabine woman who is being abducted by the young Roman. All three are interwoven into the group, through physical contact and through eye contact with each other. The impression of struggling movement is initiated by the woman's outstretched arms, continues through the muscular figure of the young abductor, clasping the body of his prey, and ends in the raised arm of the dominated husband. The artist's use of exaggerated gestures, along with his ability to convey a sense of