Abduction of the Sabines

As one enters the Accademia Gallery, one will find the plaster cast by Giambologna (as Jean de Boulogne, 1579–1583, is known in Italy) displayed central-stage in the Hall of the Colossus. From this model, Giambologna created the marble sculpture you can admire even today in Piazza della Signoria under the Loggia dei Lanzi, to the right of Palazzo Vecchio as you face the city hall.

The cast depicts three figures connected by a serpentine-shaped movement, with one man lifting a woman into the air while a second man crouches. The name of “The Rape of the Sabines”, was suggested by his contemporary Vincenzo Borghini from the Italian “ratto” which actually means abduction, not rape. What impacts the observer the most of the one in Piazza della Signoria is the fact that the whole group was carved from a single block of marble, and is acknowledged as Giambologna’s masterpiece.

But the masterpiece was this plaster work, which was not intended as an example of what was to come but as a piece of in itself. It was Giambologna’s “visiting card” when he first arrived in Florence and needed to find patrons for his work, a way for him to show everyone what he was capable of.

The three figures are constructed on a vortex that invites the observer to move around the statue and offers infinite view points. Inspired by Michelangelo and by mannerist ideals, Giambologna became famous for the search of intertwined figure compositions and over ambitious inclusive efforts. His ability to sculpt bodies in the old classical style and splendid figures of naked women in seductive poses increased his fame at the end of the XVI century.