The Apennine Colossus

[Phidippides]

This is one of the coolest sculptures you'll ever see (well, in my opinion at least  ) - by the sculptor Giambologna (b. 1529).


Appennino [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], by Valerio Orlandini (Own work), from Wikimedia Commons


Appennino2 [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], by Hari Seldon from Firenze, Italia (Flickr), from Wikimedia Commons


Park Demidoff-Apennin [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], by Erich Schmid (Own work), from Wikimedia Commons

Photo here for size perspective.

[scout1067]

That is pretty cool.  Where is it located?

[Phidippides]

At the Villa di Pratolino (aka Villa Demidoff) outside Florence.  It's kind of surprising that the sculpture was produced in the early 17th century.  The very idea of it seems more modern, at least to me.

[skiguy]

That is way cool!  The first picture I couldn't tell it was supposed to be a human/god.  Is it supposed to be Zeus?

[Phidippides]

I think it may just be a personification of the Apennine Mountains which run through Italy.  I know in classical art, things such as "victory" or "peace" or "Rome" were personified in sculptural form and would accompany mythological deities, so doing something similar with a mountain range in the Renaissance is likely.

[scout1067]

If I go down that way I am going to have to stop and see it. We plan on going to Italy next year but have not decided whether to drive or fly.  Rome is only a twelve hour drive over the Brenner Pass from where I live.

[Phidippides]

If I go doan that way I am going to have to stop and see it. We plan on going to Italy next year but have not decided whether to drive or fly.  Rome is only a twelve hour drive over the Brenner Pass from where I live.

Do you live in Austria?


View Larger Map

[scout1067]

No, I live in Germany but the fastest driving route to Italy from my house is over the Brenner Pass.  It is the way I drove last year when I went to Pisa, the worst part about it is you have to buy a toll sticker when you get into Austria to drive on their highways.  That and every country but Germany has a speed limit.

[Aetheling]

Giambologna (1529 - 1608), was a sculptor, known for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style.

Mannerism is notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial (as opposed to naturalistic) qualities.  It encompasses a variety of approaches influenced by, and reacting to, the harmonious ideals and restrained naturalism associated with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early Michelangelo.

I'm surprised that you talk about him; Giambologna is today almost unknown even if his influence was important throughout Northern Europe !