Giambologna, a Flemish master in Italy

A Flemish master in Italy

Giambologna

This autumn, you can visit 'Scultori Fiamminghi. Flemish Sculptors in Italy' at M, our first exhibition exploring the artistic exchange between Italy and the Low Countries in the 16th century. Meet one of the key figures: the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne, also known as Giambologna.

Douai is a small town of 40,000 inhabitants in northern France. Today’s visitors could be forgiven for not immediately realizing that, during the 16th century, it was one of the most important towns in the County of Flanders – indeed, in the entire Low Countries. Following a series of wars, it became part of France in 1668.

But that was still a long way off when Jean de Boulogne was born in Douai in 1529. His early life remains obscure, but we know that at the age of twenty he was living in Mons , where he worked for Jacques Dubroeucq, court artist to Emperor Charles V. In 1550, he travelled to Rome. Like many young artists of his time, it was there that he sought to perfect his craft: to learn from the works left behind by Roman and Greek sculptors, and, above all, from their masterful depiction of the human body.

God of commerce

Giambologna, as he is known in Italy, spent two years in Rome. He then moved to Florence, where, several years later, he entered the service of the wealthy and powerful de’ Medici family. He was given a modest studio in the Palazzo Vecchio, with three or four pupils. For twenty years, he created highly acclaimed works in this space, such as the statue of ‘Samson and the Philistines’. His statue of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, is another classic. You have probably already seen it in one form or another. It features, for example, in the logo of Café Commerce in Leuven, on the corner of Hooverplein and Ladeuzeplein – a few hundred metres from M.

A single block

Giambologna established himself as an eminent sculptor who consistently delivered work of the highest quality. But his major breakthrough came in 1583, when ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women’ was unveiled on Florence’s main square. Aesthetically, it was a resounding success: the first statue was intended to be viewed from all angles. But it was also a technical tour de force. A century earlier, Donatello (1386–1466) had already succeeded in carving a figure from a single block of marble – the first time this had been achieved since classical antiquity. Baccio Bandinelli (1488–1560) surpassed this by doubling the number of figures. But ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women’ features three that, moreover, are intricately intertwined – all carved in one piece.

Sculpture of the Rape of the Sabine Woman, created by Giambologna, 1583, Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence — © Adobe Stock, Giambologna, The Rape of the Sabine Woman, 1583, Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence

Sculpuur van de roof van de Sabijnse maagd, gemaakt door Giambologna, 1583, Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Firenze — © Adobe Stock

The news spread like wildfire across Europe, and people travelled from far and wide to meet Giambologna in Florence. “The finest artists born in that century visited his studio,” wrote a contemporary. Young artists queued up to become his apprentices – not only from Italy, but from across Europe, particularly the Low Countries. Florence became a mandatory stop for Northern European artists travelling to Italy, and all of them, even the established names, visited Giambologna’s studio. The artist became a household name. He received offers to enter the service of the most celebrated royal courts, but remained loyal to the de’ Medici family – albeit with the occasional grumble, as he felt he was underpaid. He watched his pupils disperse and become wealthy, as he wrote to his employers, while he himself could barely make ends meet.

Better than Michelangelo?

Contemporary sources paint a picture of Giambologna as a modest, hard-working perfectionist – a workaholic, as we would say today. He did not regard his pupils as labourers; he called them compagni, or companions. He always strove for the highest possible quality, and everyone in his studio had a specialization: executing designs, sculpting in marble, working with bronze… As a result, they continued to gain experience and refine their skills. Giambologna oversaw the entire process and focused primarily on designing models for the sculptures – a pivotal aspect of the creative process. He often left the execution to his compagni.

The result: a wealth of superlative sculptures, and a style that, by the time of his death in 1608, had become the standard throughout Europe. More than 150 years later, the English landscape painter and art historian Joshua Reynolds posed the question of who was the greatest sculptor of modern times: Michelangelo or Giambologna. The question alone is provocative enough, but his answer is even more so. He chose Giambologna.