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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Samson and the Philistines

Figure Group
1749 (dated)
Artist/Maker
Foggini, Vincenzo (sculptor)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

The Old Testament hero Samson is here shown wielding the jawbone of an ass to slay two of the Philistines who were taunting him. This massive figure group was purchased from the artist by the young Lord Malton, later 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, when he visited Italy in 1749 in order to obtain works of art for his father's new house, Wentworth Woodhouse, in Yorkshire. The sculpture remained there, displayed in the sculpture gallery in the house, until 1985.

The marble from which this sculpture is carved was probably originally intended for a work by Giambologna, a replacement for his earlier Samson and the Philistine (Museum no. Museum no. A.7-1954), which had been sent as a gift to Spain in 1601. In the event Giambologna did not carve the replacement, and the block was given to the Granducal sculptor, Giambattista Foggini, who took over Giambologna's workshop. It then became available to Giambattista's son and pupil, Vincenzo.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Myths & Legends
Object type
Figure group
TitleSamson and the Philistines (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved marble
Marble
Carving
Brief description
Figure group, marble, depicting Samson and the Philistines, by Vincenzo Foggini, Italy (Florence), dated 1749
Physical description
Marble figure group depicting Samson and the Philistines, inscribed, 'VINVS FOGGINI / SCVLPSIT FLO / RENTIAE / 1749'. The group comprises of three male nudes; Samson stands, a jaw bone in his raised right hand, astride two struggling Philistines.
Dimensions
  • Height: 233cm
Marks and inscriptions
'VINVS FOGGINI / SCVLPSIT FLO / RENTIAE / 1749' (Maker's identification; lower part of 'rocky' base; carved; marble)
Gallery label
(2021)
Vincenzo Foggini (active 1692–1755)
Samson and the Philistines
Signed and dated 1749

Here, the Old Testament hero Samson uses the jawbone of an ass to kill two of the Philistines who were taunting him. For this work, the Florentine sculptor Foggini reinterpreted a dramatic pose created nearly 200 years earlier by the celebrated sculptor Giambologna, whose studio Foggini had inherited. Giambologna’s marble, Samson Slaying a Philistine, is displayed in the Medieval & Renaissance gallery.

Florence
Marble
Purchased by Charles Watson-Wentworth, then Lord Malton (1730–82), later 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, for Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire
(Nov. 2010)
Vicenzo Foggini (active 1725-1753)
Samson and the Philistines
Signed and dated 1749
This massive figure group shows the Old Testament hero Samson using
the jawbone of an ass to kill two of the Philistines who were taunting him. Foggini sold it directly to the young Lord Malton (later 2nd Marquess of Rockingham), when he visited Italy in 1749 to buy works of art for Wentworth Woodhouse, the family seat in Yorkshire.
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support, and the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Murray Bequest
Object history
Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire, 1750-1985 (bought in 1749 by Charles Lord Malton, later 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730-1782) and passed by descent through the heirs of his sister Anne and her husband, the 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam): Christie's, London, 15 July 1986, lot 96; Fred Koch, London; Christie's, London, 5 December 1989, lot 204; Green Drake Corporation, New York. Purchased by the Museum for £350,000 from Green Drake Corp., in 1991.
Subjects depicted
Men
Nudes
Bone
Philistine
Samson
Summary
The Old Testament hero Samson is here shown wielding the jawbone of an ass to slay two of the Philistines who were taunting him. This massive figure group was purchased from the artist by the young Lord Malton, later 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, when he visited Italy in 1749 in order to obtain works of art for his father's new house, Wentworth Woodhouse, in Yorkshire. The sculpture remained there, displayed in the sculpture gallery in the house, until 1985.

The marble from which this sculpture is carved was probably originally intended for a work by Giambologna, a replacement for his earlier Samson and the Philistine (Museum no. Museum no. A.7-1954), which had been sent as a gift to Spain in 1601. In the event Giambologna did not carve the replacement, and the block was given to the Granducal sculptor, Giambattista Foggini, who took over Giambologna's workshop. It then became available to Giambattista's son and pupil, Vincenzo.
Bibliographic references
  • Tomasso Brothers Fine Art. Scultura. London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2008, pp. 110-111. ISBN 9781903470893.
  • Cotman, Viccy. Fabricating the Antique: Neoclassicism in Britain, 1760-1800. Chicago; London, 2006. p. 137, and fig. 58 on p. 138.
  • Jeremy Warren, 'Giambologna in Inghilterra e in America, in Giambologna gli dei, gli eroi. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, 2006, fig. 7 onp. 132.
  • Williamson, Paul, "Acquisition of Sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1986-1991", in: Burlington Magazine, Dec. 1991, p. 880
  • Penny, Nicholas, 'Lord Rockingham's Sculpture Collection and the Judgement of Paris by Nollekens', in: The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Vol. 19, 1991, pp. 5-34
  • Warren, Jeremy, 'Giambologna in Inghliterra e in America', in Giambologna gli dei, gli eroi (exh. cat.), Museo Nazionale del Borgello, Florence, 2006, fig. 7 on p. 132
  • Jackson-Stops, Gervase (ed.) The Treasure houses of Britain : five hundred years of private patronage and art collecting. Washington D.C. : National Gallery of Art, 1985. 214
  • The twilight of the Medici; late baroque art in Florence, 1670-1743. Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1974 43
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.1-1991

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Record createdFebruary 26, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O94079/samson-and-the-philistines-figure-group-foggini-vincenzo/
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