GiambolognaFlemish, 1529–1608Samson Slaying a Philistine
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
RoomMedieval & Renaissance, Room 50a, The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Samson Slaying a Philistine is a marble sculpture created around 1562 by Giambologna. Originally commissioned by Francesco de' Medici for a fountain in Florence, this sculpture was later gifted to Spain's Duke of Lerma and displayed in the gardens of the Palacio de la Ribera, Valladolid.
The statue was the earliest of his marble groups from the sculptor to the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, and the only substantial work by the artist to have left Italy.
In the museum's words
Samson is seen here wielding the jawbone of an ass in order to slay one of the Philistines who have taunted him. This is the earliest of the great marble groups by Giovanni Bologna (called Giambologna), and the only substantial work by the artist to have left Italy. Commissioned by Francesco de’Medici, it was subsequently set up on a fountain in Florence. In 1601 the fountain was sent to Spain as a gift to the Duke of Lerma, chief minister of Philip III of Spain, from the Grand-Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany. The group was later presented to Charles Prince of Wales on his visit to Spain in 1623. On its arrival in England, it was given to the king’s favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, and subsequently changed hands three times before coming to the Museum in 1954.
Read on
This sculpture is a good example of the multiple viewpoints seen in Giambologna’s work; the spiralling movement of the bodies means that there is no single viewpoint. This contrasts with the work of the slightly later sculpture of Bernini, whose monumental works almost invariably have only one viewpoint. Despite the fact that the marble is weathered from three centuries outdoors, Giambologna’s sensitive carving is still apparent.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- A.7-1954
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
