Not currently on display at the V&A

The Rape of the Sabines

Relief
ca. 1582 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The relief is a preliminary sketch-model for the bronze relief set in the plinth of Giovanni Bologna's marble group of the Rape of the Sabines unveiled under the Loggia de'Lanzi in Florence in 1583.

The model was abandoned presumably because the over-ambitious composition failed to work satisfactorily: the eventual bronze relief is composed quite differently and more simply. The sketch shows in the centre the games of the Consualia which served the Romans as the pretext for inviting the Sabines. In the bronze this feature was omitted.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleThe Rape of the Sabines (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Model Relief "The Rape of the Sabines" in terracotta by Giambologna, ca. 1582, Florence, Italy
Physical description
A crowded composition of Romans and Sabines grouped around the monument of a hero with seated figures on the base; three of the Romans are mounted. The architectural background is roughly sketched in.
Dimensions
  • Height: 58.42cm
  • Width: 83.82cm
Gallery label
The relief is a preliminary sketch-model for the bronze relief set in the plinth of Giovanni Bologna's marble group of the Rape of the Sabines unveiled under the Loggia de'Lanzi in Florence in 1583. The model was abandoned presumably because the over-ambitious composition failed to work satisfactorily: the eventual bronze relief is composed quite differently and more simply. The sketch shows in the centre the games of the Consualia which served the Romans as the pretext for inviting the Sabines. In the bronze this feature was omitted.(dec 1995)
Object history
The relief is a preliminary sketch-model for the bronze relief set in the plinth of Giovanni Bologna's marble group of the Rape of the Sabines unveiled under the Loggia de'Lanzi in Florence in 1583. The model was abandoned presumably because the over-ambitious composition failed to work satisfactorily: the eventual bronze relief is composed quite differently and more simply. The sketch shows in the centre the games of the Consualia which served the Romans as the pretext for inviting the Sabines. In the bronze this feature was omitted.
Summary
The relief is a preliminary sketch-model for the bronze relief set in the plinth of Giovanni Bologna's marble group of the Rape of the Sabines unveiled under the Loggia de'Lanzi in Florence in 1583.

The model was abandoned presumably because the over-ambitious composition failed to work satisfactorily: the eventual bronze relief is composed quite differently and more simply. The sketch shows in the centre the games of the Consualia which served the Romans as the pretext for inviting the Sabines. In the bronze this feature was omitted.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1854. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 19
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 147
  • Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Art Bulletin. Vol. L, 1968, pp. 103
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 493.
Collection
Accession number
4128-1854

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Record createdApril 16, 2008
Record URL
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