Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18371

Ambitious Form describes the transformation of Italian sculpture during the neglected half century between the death of Michelangelo and the rise of Bernini. The book follows the Florentine careers of three major sculptors—Giambologna, Bartolomeo Ammanati, and Vincenzo Danti—as they negotiated the politics of the Medici court and eyed one another's work, setting new aims for their art in the process. Only through a comparative look at Giambologna and his contemporaries, it argues, can we understand them individually--or understand the period in which they worked.

Michael Cole shows how the concerns of central Italian artists changed during the last decades of the Cinquecento. Whereas their predecessors had focused on specific objects and on the particularities of materials, late sixteenth-century sculptors turned their attention to models and design. The iconic figure gave way to the pose, individualized characters to abstractions. Above all, the multiplicity of master crafts that had once divided sculptors into those who fashioned gold or bronze or stone yielded to a more unifying aspiration, as nearly every ambitious sculptor, whatever his training, strove to become an architect.

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Print publication date January 2010 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780691147444

EISBN 9780300249712

Illustrations 170

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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List of illustrations

Samson and a Philistine
Samson Slaying Two Philistines
Honor and Deceit
Hercules and Antaeus (in situ, atop the fountain designed by Niccolò Tribolo)
Cosimo I as Augustus
Tomb of Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, Duke of Urbino
Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Nemours
Allegory of Francesco I de' Medici
Vulcan's Forge
Michelangelo sculpting
Alessandro Vittoria in His Studio
Florence Triumphant over Pisa
Leda and the Swan
De Monte Chapel
Sculpture Garden of Cardinal Cesi
Sculpture Garden of Cardinal Cesi, detail
Neptune Fountain, detail
Allegory of Painting, from the tomb of Michelangelo
Slave
Portrait of Giambologna
Neptune Fountain
Florence Triumphant over Pisa
Genius of Victory
Victory
Ignudo, from the Neptune Fountain
Mars Gravidus
Drawing of a grate
Sketches of fountains
Ponte Santa Trinita
Design for a mill
Fishing Boy
Bacchus
Neptune Fountain
Neptune
Moses and the Brazen Serpent
Venus Anadyomene
Ops
The Descent from the Cross, detail
Turkey
Venus after the Bath
Bather
St. Luke, detail
St. Thomas, detail
Allegory
Cast of the Allegory of Prince Francesco I de Medici
Hercules Pomarius
Sportello for one of Cosimo's studies
Inkwell in the form of a crab
Descent from the Cross
Satyr
Mercury
Abduction Scene
Oceanus Fountain
Rape of a Sabine
Pluto and Proserpina
St. Paul
Janus
Hercules and the Centaur
Hercules and the Centaur, detail
Honor and Deceit, detail
Alpheus and Arethusa
Fountain of Juno (upper figures)
Fountain of Juno (lower figures)
Appenine
Clay model for Appenine
Appenine
Triton
Mercury Taking Flight
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Falcon
Owl
Eagle
Sculptures from different points of view
Architectural and anatomical sketches
David
Beheading of the Baptist (in situ, before restoration)
Figure Studies
Hercules and the Centaur
Hercules and Antaeus
Nessus and Deianira
Man with a Club
Codex Magliabecchianus 17, 4, fol. 55r
Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar
Codex Magliabecchianus 17, 4, fol. 51r
Codex Magliabecchianus 17, 4, fol. 59v
Codex Riccardianus 2275, fol. 29v
Codex Riccardianus 2136, fol. 27r
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 13r
Opening of Biblioteca Riccardiana
Architecture
Giambologna in His Studio
Equity and Rigor and Cosimo I (in situ)
Fata Morgana
Stucco model for the restoration of an ancient Venus
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 32v
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 3r
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 20r
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 27v
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 32r
Disegni e misure e regole, fol. 33v
Bathsheba
Vases
Study for the Salviati Chapel, recto
Design for a fountain
Modo di misurare una profondita in fossa dun pozzo
Altar of Liberty
Altar of St. Regulus
Tomb of Giovanni Buoncampagni
Salviati Chapel, general view
Study for the Salviati Chapel, verso
Translation of St. Antoninus
Exposition of the Relics of St. Antoninus, with Ugolino Martelli Preaching
Antoninus Pardoning the Magistrato degli Otto
Antoninus Preaching
Christ in Limbo
Left wall of Salviati Chapel
Right wall of Salviati Chapel
St. Antoninus
St. Cecilia
Effigy on tomb of Antipope John XXIII, detail
Fountain of the Grotticella (in situ)
Madonna of the Harpies
Crucifix
Project for Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Burial chapel
Christ and the Samaritan Woman
Soccorso Chapel
Soccorso Chapel
Way to Calvary
Charity
Crucifix
Crucifix
Crucifix Raised over Broken Idol
The Vatican Obelisk
Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I
Palazzo Grifoni, seen from the north
Palazzo Farnese
Palazzo Grifoni, detail of brickwork
Study for Neptune fountain
Palazzo Mondragone
San Giovannino
Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
Equestrian Monument to Ferdinando I, seen from the south
Palazzo degi Anziani
Piazza Santissima Annunziata
Ferdinando I
Justice
Map of Florence, oriented with south at the top, detail
Justice, as seen from Via delle Terme
Plan of Florence, detail
Plan of Florence, detail
Hercules and the Centaur
Canto dei Carnesecchi
Justice, seen from Palazzo Strozzi
Via Tournabuoni 5
Palazzo Corsi, with bust of Cosimo I
Palazzo Altoviti, with Medici arms, as seen from the portal of Palazzo Corsi
Canto dei Carnesecchi, viewed from the west, looking toward the Cathedral
Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I, detail
St. Matthew
Cosimo I's Trimphal Entry into Siena, relief from Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I
St. Antoninus's Ceremonial Entry into the Piazza della Signoria
Pilate Washing His Hands
Pilate Washing His Hands
Florence Rending Obeisance to Duke Cosimo, relief from the base of Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I
Coronation of Cosimo I, relief from Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I
Hercules and the Centaur, view from the front
Hercules and the Centaur, from the back

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Contents

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

Contents

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.001

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18372

Introduction

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

~In October 1580, the Urbinate ambassador Simone Fortuna reported to his employer on a meeting he had had with Giambologna, the star artist of Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici’s Florentine court. The Flemish sculptor, he wrote, was “the best person you could ever meet, not...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Giambologna, 1529-1608Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Art criticism--Italy--HistoryFlorence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.1-20

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.002

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18373

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1. Models

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

What did the late Renaissance sculptor actually do? With drawings and paintings, it is customary to focus on the artist’s hand, yet sculpture, much more than these media...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Giambologna, 1529-1608Artists' preparatory studies--ItalyDanti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564Florence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalyArtists' preparatory studies--Italy--FlorenceSculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.21-50

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18374

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2. Professions

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

The commission for the Neptune fountain put Ammanati, Danti, and Giambologna in direct competition, as Leone Leoni and other interested parties looked on...

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.51-89

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.004

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18375

Chapter subject tags:Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Giambologna, 1529-1608Florence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

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3. Naturalism

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

The earliest Renaissance treatise devoted to the art of sculpture was Alberti’s De statua, probably written in the 1460s but published for the first time...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Giambologna, 1529-1608Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Alberti, Leon Battista, 1404-1472Vasari, Giorgio, 1511-1574Marble industry and trade--ItalyFlorence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.90-120

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.005

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18376

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4. Pose

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

Reading the Sabine as a piece of marble and the Medici Mercury as congealed liquid aligns them with Danti’s bound Honor, emphasizing...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Giambologna, 1529-1608Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Nude in art--Italy--RenaissanceParagone (Aesthetics)Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519Florence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.121-157

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.006

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18377

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5. Sculpture as Architecture

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

On entering the employ of Duke Cosimo in 1554, Vasari turned his attention to the renovation of the Great Council Hall in the Palazzo Vecchio, the former home of the Republican city’s government...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Vasari, Giorgio, 1511-1574Artists as architects--ItalyMichelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564Giambologna, 1529-1608Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Anatomy, Artistic--RenaissanceFlorence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.158-192

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.007

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18378

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6. Chapels

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

~On 22 August 1582, Ammanati wrote to his colleagues from the Accademia del Disegno in Florence warning them to avoid...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Giambologna, 1529-1608Altars, Renaissance--ItalyChapels--ItalySan Marco (Church : Florence, Italy)Danti, Vincenzo, 1530-1576Altars, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceFlorence (Italy)--HistoryChapels--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.193-243

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.008

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18379

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7. Sculpture in the City

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

The obelisks that Pope Sixtus had Domenico Fontana erect around Rome and the colossal bronze statues of saints Peter and Paul that he had the same engineer place...

Author

Chapter subject tags:Sculpture, Renaissance--ItalyGiambologna, 1529-1608Equestrian statues--ItalyArchitecture, Renaissance--ItalyFlorence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceEquestrian statues--Italy--FlorenceArchitecture, Renaissance--Italy--FlorenceAmmannati, Bartolomeo, 1511-1592

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.244-282

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.009

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18380

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Conclusion

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

Giambologna differs from most artists active in early modern Italy in that his significance has been most visible from a distance...

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.283-286

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.010

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18381

Chapter subject tags:Florence (Italy)--HistorySculpture, Renaissance--ItalySculpture, Renaissance--Italy--Florence

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Photo Credits

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

Photo Credits

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.011

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18382

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Acknowledgments

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

~This book would not have taken the form it did, and might not have existed at all, had I not benefited from the generosity and intelligence of many dear colleagues and from the support of several wonderful institutions. My first attempts to write on Giambologna and Danti came in an article about the...

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.012

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18383

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Index

Ambitious Form: Giambologna, Ammanati, and Danti in Florence

Index

Author

PublisherPrinceton University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00009.013

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18384