Athenaeum Fine Art & Antiques
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Sculpture · 18th–19th century
Neptune
After Giambologna
ArtistAfter GiambolognaMediumPatinated bronzeFoundryItalian, no foundry marksSignatureNo signaturesDateLate 18th or early 19th centuryDimensions23 inches highConditionIn overall excellent condition, minor scuffs and rubbing to extremities, slight bends in the rod of the trident (as is common with such appendages; indeed many examples of Giambologna’s Neptune have lost the trident altogether)
The present sculpture is modelled after the central figure of the Neptune Fountain in Bologna, executed by the great late Renaissance / Mannerist sculptor Giambologna in 1565–66. The sculpture, commissioned by Pope Pius IV, was one of Giambologna’s first major commissions, and helped establish him as the preeminent sculptor in Italy in the final decades of the 16th century and a worthy successor to Michelangelo.
The present example has a particularly rich and subtle patina, with blacks, browns, or greens dominating depending on the angle of viewing and quality of light.
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