Monkey
by GIAMBOLOGNA, Bronze, height 41 cm
Giambologna invented an ‘impressionistic’ rendering in the original wax of plumage and fur, which were faithfully translated by skilful casting into his final bronze versions of birds and monkeys.
This statuette is from a niche in the base of Giambologna’s marble group “Samson Slaying a Philistine”, commissioned by Francesco de Medici, son of Cosimo I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, as a fountain decoration for the Casino San Marco in Florence.