Apennine Colossus

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Apennine Colossus
Italian: Colosso Appenninico
Gigante dell'Appennino del Giambologna.jpg
Colossus of Apennine
ArtistJean de Boulogne, a.k.a. Giambologna
Completion datelate 1580s
MediumStone
Dimensions11 meters (36 feet)
LocationApennine Mountains
Coordinates43°51′33″N 11°18′16″E / 43.859167°N 11.304444°E / 43.859167; 11.304444Coordinates: 43°51′33″N 11°18′16″E / 43.859167°N 11.304444°E / 43.859167; 11.304444

The Apennine Colossus (Italian: Colosso Appenninico) is a stone statue, approximately 11 metres (36 ft) high,[1] in the estate of the Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Tuscany in Italy. The colossus was erected in the late 1580s by the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, better known as Giambologna, as a personification of the Apennine mountains. The site was originally part of the estate of the Villa di Pratolino, which was built by Bernardo Buontalenti from 1569 onwards on orders by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco de' Medici.[2]

Description of the sculpture[]

The colossus is about 11 metres (36 ft) high[1] and meant as a personification of the Apennine Mountains,[3] the water source for the Pratolino[4] its fountains and secret water plays.[5] The colossus has the appearance of an elderly man crouched at the shore of a lake and is depicted in a realistic, suggestive pose.[6] It is surrounded by several mythological themes from Ovid's Metamorphoses like Pegasus, Parnassus or Jupiter[7] and it is assumed that Giambologna was inspired by the description of a mountain-like Atlas in Ovid's work, when he designed the figure of Apennine.[7] Other sources cite the Atlas as described in the Aeneid of the Roman poet Virgil as an inspiration.[8] With his left hand in front of him, the Apennine seems to squeeze the head of a sea monster[6] through whose open mouth water flows into the pond ahead of the statue.[9] The stone colossus is depicted naked, with stalactites in the thick beard[9] and long hair to show the metamorphosis of man and mountain, blending his body with the surrounding nature, populated by aquatic vegetation.[10] The statue is described to originally have been emerging from its environment[11] like being alive. The giant was able to sweat and weep, water poured out from his body from a network of water-pipes.[4] In the winter season, icicles would cover his body.[4] The work is about 11 metres in height, made up of stone and plaster and appearing to be partially covered with moss and lichens.[10]

Within the giant exist a series of chambers and caves on three levels.[4] In the ground floor of the colossus exists a cave[12] containing an octagonal fountain dedicated to the Greek goddess Thetys.[13] The Italian painter Jacopo Ligozzi adorned the Grotto de Thetys[14] with frescos of villages from the Mediterranean coast of Tuscany in 1586.[15] In other chambers mining scenes based on the book De re metallica by the mineralogist Georgius Agricola were to be seen.[16] In the giant's upper floor is a chamber big enough for a small orchestra and in the head a small chamber holds a fireplace out of which the smoke would escape through his nostrils.[9] The chamber in the head had slits in the ears and the eyes.[6] Francesco enjoyed fishing while sitting in the head chamber, throwing the fishing line through one of the eye slits.[4] At night the chamber was illuminated with torches, following which the eyes appeared to glow in the dark.[4] Initially, the back of the Colossus was protected by a structure resembling a cave, as seen on an etching by Stefano della Bella.[17][13] On top of it, there was a terrace.[4] The cave-like structure was demolished around 1690 by the sculptor Giovan Battista Foggini, who also built a statue of a dragon[18] to adorn the back of the colossus.[4] The dragon was described to have been a fountain, but it is assumed the dragon's belly was transformed into a fireplace while the dragon's neck and head had the function of its chimney.[19] In 1876 the Italian sculptor Rinaldo Barbetti renovated the giant statue.[20]

Location and ownership[]

The Pratolino is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Florence at the foot of the Apennine mountain range.[21] In it, there is a rectangular square called the Prato del Appennino, situated in front of the colossus.[13] After Francesco de' Medici's death in 1587 and that of his wife Bianca Capello the next day,[22] the villa and its surroundings fell into decay.[10] The Villa di Pratolino was demolished in 1822[10] and in 1872, the heirs of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sold the estate[11] to the Demidoff family who built their own villa on it.[6] In 1981 the Villa Demidoff was purchased by the Province of Florence[23] and today the park and its giant are accessible to the public.[11]

Gallery[]

  • Etching by Stefano Della Bella

  • Front of the Colossus of the Apennine

  • The Apennine Colossus overseeing the pond

  • Italy from the Alps to Mount Etna (1877) (14773634911).jpg

  • Detail of the Colossus of the Apennine

  • Fountain of Thetys in the ground floor by Giovanni Guerra

  • Upper chamber within the statue

  • Dragon at the back of the Colossus by Giovanni Battista Foggini

References[]

  1. ^ a b Morgan, Luke (2015), p.12
  2. ^ Smith, Webster (1961-12-01). "Pratolino". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 20 (4): 155–168. doi:10.2307/988039. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 988039.
  3. ^ Morgan, Luke (2015). "The Monster in the Garden | Luke Morgan". www.upenn.edu. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-01-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Steadman, Philip (2021), "The 'garden of marvels' at Pratolino", Renaissance Fun, The machines behind the scenes, UCL Press, p. 290, doi:10.2307/j.ctv18msqmt.16, ISBN 978-1-78735-916-1, JSTOR j.ctv18msqmt.16, S2CID 241909486, retrieved 2022-01-15
  5. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021), pp.286–287
  6. ^ a b c d Rubboli, Matteo (2020-02-03). "Il Colosso dell'Appennino: la Gigantesca Statua Dimenticata alle Porte di Firenze". Vanilla Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b Hunt, John Dixon (2016-02-15). Garden and Grove: The Italian Renaissance Garden in the English Imagination, 1600-1750. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-8122-9278-7.
  8. ^ Morgan, Luke (2015) p.9
  9. ^ a b c Ilya (2013-05-11). "The Appennine Colossus". Unusual Places. Retrieved 2022-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b c d Ricupati, Daniela (2021-11-10). "Il Colosso dell'Appennino di Giambologna". Il Giardino della Cultura (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  11. ^ a b c "Gardens in Tuscany | Villa di Pratolino | Parco Villa Demidoff". www.travelingintuscany.com. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  12. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021), p.291
  13. ^ a b c Smith, Webster (1961). "Pratolino". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 20 (4): 156. doi:10.2307/988039. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 988039 – via JSTOR.
  14. ^ Tantardini, Lucia; Norris, Rebecca (2020-08-31). Lomazzo's Aesthetic Principles Reflected in the Art of his Time: With a Foreword by Paolo Roberto Ciardi, an Introduction by Jean Julia Chai, and an Afterword by Alexander Marr. Brill. p. 17. ISBN 978-90-04-43510-0.
  15. ^ Hirschboeck, Martin (2014). "Jacopo Ligozzi, An allegory of virtue" (PDF). p. 29. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021) pp.293–294
  17. ^ Massar, Phyllis D. (1968). "Presenting Stefano della Bella". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 27 (3): 174. doi:10.2307/3258383. ISSN 0026-1521. JSTOR 3258383.
  18. ^ "Rilievo e modellazione del Gigante dell'Appennino nel parco di Pratolino | geomaticaeconservazione.it". www.geomaticaeconservazione.it. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  19. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021), pp.290–291
  20. ^ "Barbetti Rinaldo". Recta Galleria d'arte - Roma (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  21. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021), p.279
  22. ^ Steadman, Philip (2021), p.315
  23. ^ "Russi in Italia: dizionario - Russi in Italia". www.russinitalia.it. Retrieved 2022-01-13.

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