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Hercules Giovanni da Bologna (follower of)

Artist

Giovanni da Bologna (follower of) Douai 1529 – 1608 Florence

Culture Italian
Date second half of the 16th century
Object type sculpture
Medium, technique bronze with black lacquer patina
Dimensions

69 × 32 × 20 cm, 25 kg

Inventory number 4895
Collection Sculptures
On view Museum of Fine Arts, Ground Floor, Baroque Hall

The bronze statue depicting an antique hero was considered an ancient artefact by its collector, István Ferenczy, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. After being brought into the museum, the piece was attributed to the school of the Flemish-born sculptor, Giambologna. The depiction of the figure evokes Giambologna’s Oceano (1572–1576), which once embellished the fountain of the Boboli Gardens in Florence, preserved nowadays at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. A model for this popular theme was a classical marble statue found in Rome in 1546, the so-called Farnese Hercules, of which many engravings were in circulation.

References

Petrovics, Elek – Meller, Simon, Ferenczy István bronzgyűjteményének kiállítása, Országos Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 1917, p. 16.

Balogh, Jolán, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke des Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest, IV – XVIII. Jahrhundert: 1. Textband Bd. 1, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1975, p. 135., no. 171.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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