Giambologna

A Flemish sculptor and architect who came to symbolise Mannerism in Florence, Giambologna combined Michelangelo’s force with the refined virtuosity of contemporary art. Born in 1529 in Douai, Flanders, he moved to Florence at the age of twenty-three and spent most of his life there.

A Flemish sculptor in Italy

Little is known about the early years of Giambologna—born Jean de Boulogne—except that his father was a notary in the town of Douai. At the time, Flanders was under the rule of the Spanish crown, a direct dominion of Emperor Charles V, who had inherited it from his paternal grandmother, Mary of Burgundy. The emperor had a special bond with the region but soon delegated authority to his beloved sister, Mary. Her influence sparked a cultural revival in the Low Countries and Flanders, deeply shaped by her passion for classical Italian art.
It was within this vibrant atmosphere, on the threshold of the modern age, that Jean grew up and received his training.

His artistic journey began in 1540, at just eleven years old, when he moved to Antwerp to study under the sculptor and architect Jacques du Broeucq, master artist to the Emperor and known even to Vasari. Under Du Broeucq, Jean worked on the choir loft in Mons and likely witnessed the rebuilding of the Binche Castle —an imperial residence transformed into a hub of artists and intellectuals by Mary of Hungary, aiming to rival the famed French castle of Fontainebleau.
It was probably during this time that Jean first encountered the late Gothic and Renaissance models characteristic of Florentine art. After all, Du Broeucq’s style clearly echoes that of Ghiberti and Sansovino—whose works he likely admired in his youth during a formative study trip to Italy.

A few years later, in 1550, Jean followed in his master’s footsteps and travelled to Rome to study the sculptures of Michelangelo and his contemporaries. Though ageing, the great Tuscan artist was still active, and while no concrete record of a meeting exists, it is believed the two may have crossed paths. What is certain is that the young Flemish artist spent at least two years in the Eternal City, creating numerous wax and clay models inspired by antiquity and the Renaissance masters. During this time, he met sculptors Willem Tetrode, a fellow countryman, and Guglielmo della Porta.
His deep admiration for Michelangelo left a lasting impact that would shape his work throughout his life.

First years in Florence and the debut at the Medici court

At the age of twenty-three, Jean settled in Florence. Under the patronage of wealthy collector Bernardo Vecchietti—a member of one of the city’s most powerful families—he worked on the refurbishment of the family’s palace and created several sculptures that are now lost.

It was thanks to Bernardo’s connections that Giambologna was introduced to the Medici court—first to the young Francesco I and later to Grand Duke Cosimo I and his wife, Eleonora of Toledo.

However, in those early years, he was limited to minor commissions such as the Stemma Mediceo (Medici Coat of Arms) for the Palagio di Parte Guelfa—restored by Vasari—and the Bacco in bronzo (1560–1565), now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello. The latter clearly demonstrates Giambologna’s open admiration for the era’s star sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini, who just a few years earlier had unveiled his magnificent Perseo con la testa di Medusa (1545–1554, Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello).

It was the comparison with the towering figures around him that forced Giambologna to remain on the sidelines: the two Grand Dukes already had a well-established circle of favoured artists—including Baccio Bandinelli, Bartolomeo Ammannati and, of course, Cellini—and joining their ranks was no easy feat.
Giving up, however, was not in his nature—and so, shortly afterwards, he entered the competition to design the Fontana del Nettuno in Piazza della Signoria. Today, we know that winning—an honour awarded to Ammannati—was never his true goal: Giambologna took part to showcase his formidable talent to the public—a clever move that led to further opportunities.

The first major commissions: Sansone and Nettuno in Bologna

Following his successful exposure during the Florentine competition, Giambologna was commissioned by Prince Francesco to sculpt a monumental Sansone e un Filisteo, now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Completed around 1562, this marble group reveals the young artist’s remarkable talent and his preference for sculptures that can be appreciated from multiple angles, without a single privileged viewpoint. The dynamism of the poses, the sinuous lines, and the intense emotional charge would remain hallmarks of his mature style and place his works among the masterpieces of Mannerism.
That same year, he began working for the Grand Duchy on numerous public commissions.

Giambologna’s career, slow but unstoppable, was now on the rise. Proof of this came just a few months later, when he was summoned to Bologna to create an imposing statue of Neptune for the fountain in the city’s square of the same name. Completed in 1566 and still visible today, the work was part of an extensive papal plan to remodel the city of Bologna, the northern capital of the Papal State.

Return to Florence: the Fontana dell’Oceano and the Appennino

With his fame now secured—even in the eyes of such a distinguished patron as Pope Pius IV—Giambologna returned to Florence, where he undertook various commissions for the Grand Duke and his family. Among the most remarkable was the Venere Anadiomene (1572) for the Giardino della Villa di Castello. Placed atop the Fontana del Labirinto, designed by Tribolo for the splendid park, this emerging Aphrodite wringing water from her hair would soon become an allegory of the city of Florence.
Also as a continuation of Tribolo’s work, the sculptor created the Fontana dell’Oceano (1567-1576, Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello) for the Giardino di Boboli. At its centre stands a majestic Neptune atop a granite basin that had been sourced some time earlier by Grand Duke Cosimo I. Surrounding him, the three figures of the Nile, the Ganges, and the Euphrates pour out their water at his feet. Rich in composition, bas-reliefs and aquatic effects, the Oceano is a quintessential expression of the Mannerist aesthetic that prevailed in Florence at the time.

From the same fruitful period came the Venere al bagno (1572–1584), still in the Grotta del Buontalenti in the Giardino di Boboli, and the monumental Appennino at Villa di Pratolino. This towering figure, representing the Apennine mountain range that divides Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, crouches over an artificial lake. Covered in crusted stone simulating snow, the colossus conceals numerous hidden chambers within its structure, among which stands out one frescoed by the court painter Jacopo Ligozzi, featuring an octagonal fountain. The design of this Mannerist marvel includes not only a complex array of water features and figures drawn from Ovid’s Metamorfosi, but also a series of hidden channels that allowed the Appennino figure to weep and seep water from its head down across the entire stone surface. This curious mechanism caused the giant to become coated in ice during the harshest winters, mimicking the snow-covered peaks of its namesake mountains.

Artistic maturity and immortality

By the latter half of the century, Giambologna —by then an established sculptor and highly regarded by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany—reached the height of his fame, aided in part by the gradual passing of the great masters of the previous generation, who had left him little room in his youth.

His production of small bronzes was especially prized, among which the Mercurio volante, created around 1580 and later reproduced in several versions, stands out in particular. Now housed in the Bargello, this light, agile dancing figure captures the god in an elegant upward leap. Thanks to the numerous replicas made by Giambologna himself, the Mercurio played a significant role in spreading the Mannerist style beyond Italy, admired by contemporaries in courts across Europe.

The Ratto delle Sabine

Giambologna’s crowning achievement came in the same year with his most famous work: the Ratto delle Sabine. Over four metres tall and now displayed under the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, the sculpture portrays a young woman being violently lifted by a youth, while an older man writhes below, helplessly. Though later linked to the legendary abduction of the Sabine women, the theme was likely a posthumous interpretation rather than the original Giambologna’s inspiration.
With this daring piece, the artist made a bold artistic statement—surpassing classical traditions and even Michelangelo himself. Like his Sansone, the Ratto delle Sabine was designed to be admired from every angle. Echoing Benvenuto Cellini’s belief that a good sculpture should offer eight distinct viewpoints, the work stands as one of the finest achievements of Italian art in the second half of the 16th-century and a true testament to its creator’s mastery.

Jean de Boulogne died in 1608 in Florence, the very city that had brought him fame, at the end of a successful career as a court artist. His work, timeless and universal, continues to captivate generations of viewers.

Cover photo: Portrait of Giambologna, 1591, Hendrick Goltzius, Teylers Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands