Record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune. thumbnail 1
Record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune. thumbnail 2
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Record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune.

Drawing
1580-1602 (Drawn)
Artist/Maker
Francavilla, Pietro (artist)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

On both sides of the sheet are record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune, pen and ink on paper.

Object details

Category
Designs
Object type
Drawing
TitleRecord drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune. (generic title)
Materials and techniques
pen and ink and chalk on paper
Drawing
Brief description
Record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune, drawn by his assistant Pietro Francavilla (1548-1615)
Physical description
On both sides of the sheet are record drawings of Giambologna's terracotta model for the Fountain of Neptune, pen and ink on paper.
Dimensions
  • Height: 13.8cm
  • Width: 9.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
di Francavilla map-a B (Italian; front; Unknown)
Translation
By Francavilla [manu propria] in his own hand
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Murray Bequest and The Art Fund
Object history
Francavilla was Giambologna's assistant from 1580 until 1602. It is possible that he made these drawings as a record of the terracotta models stored in the studio. The sheets seem to have come from a sketchbook.

Historical significance: These drawings are important as they record modelli that are now lost, and a fountain that was never built.
Historical context
The Apennine was a fountain built at the Medici Villa at Pratolino in 1577-1581. The Fountain of Neptune may have been that scheme rejected for the Piazza della Signoria in 1560. The Fountain of Sampson was commissioned by Francesco de' Medici for the Casino Mediceo. Executed in 1561-2, the figures were not incorporated into a fountain until 1569-70. After being shipped to Spain in 1601, the figures were given to Charles I of England by Philip IV of Spain. They are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. These drawings indicate that Giambologna kept the preliminary terrcotta models for these schemes on wooden shelves in his studio.
Associated object
E.695-1993
Bibliographic references
  • Charles Avery `Pietro Francovilla's drawings of Giambologna's models' Apollo September 2000 pp.22-26.
  • pp. 236-8 Edited by Michael W. Cole ; with essays by Michael W. Cole, Davide Gasparotto, Alina Payne ... [et al.] ; [curated by Oliver Tostmann and Michael W. Cole]. Donatello, Michelangelo, Cellini : sculptors' drawings from Renaissance Italy Boston : Isabella tewart Gardner Museum ; London : Paul Holberton, 2014. ISBN: 9781907372704.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.696-1993

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Record createdApril 20, 2000
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O38982/record-drawings-of-giambolognas-terracotta-drawing-francavilla-pietro/
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