Giambologna: Court

Sculptor to Ferdinando I
 By
Alexander Rudigier
Ad Ilissum

Recently discovered documents show that Giambologna, the great

sculptor at the court of the Medici whose bronzes delighted all
Europe, made six large garden sculptures for King Henri IV of
France, otherwise unknown. This book describes the garden project
and discusses three bronzes identified as from the project, in
particular a hitherto unknown Venus.Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand
Duke of Florence, built up his relationship with the French crown
with numerous diplomatic gifts, including the creation of new
gardens at St-German-en-Laye laid out for the King of France by
the engineer and designer Tommaso Francini, who had designed and
built Ferdinando's own Pratolino gardens, and sculptures by
Giambologna that would adorn them. This was in the years
1597-1600, and preparatory to the marriage of his daughter Maria to
Henri IV in 1600 in the most spectacular wedding celebrations ever
seen in Europe.Blanca Troyols describes the nature of Henri IV's
beautiful gardens - in the latest Mannerist style, using a host of
materials (stone, shell, crystal) and rare plants, the extravagant water
features in which Francini was a specialist, and an array of statuary.
She places this important garden in context and also discusses the
diplomatic maneuvering between the respectively larger and poorer
and smaller and richer states of France and Tuscany. Alexander
Rudigier examines the surviving works by Giambologna associated
with the gardens, including a hitherto unknown Venus in a private
collection that has been the object of some controversy. He
compares this to the Mercury in the Louvre and the Triton in the
Metropolitan Museum in New York also originally for the gardens,
as well as with Giambologna's work as a whole. He shows that
probably Giambologna's pupil Hans Reichle was his major assistant,
and traces the career of the German founder, Gerhard Meyer,
working in Florence, who signed the Venus. This leads to an
important discussion of Gimabologna's late work in general.Lars
Olof Larson provides a technical report on the new Venus. The
distinguished bronze specialist Bertrand Jestaz provides an
introduction and overview.

Ad Ilissum

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