River god

This is a terracotta figure, a ‘sketch-model’ of a river god, roughly modelled and half-reclining. Part of the left arm, between the biceps and the wrist, is missing. This model was most probably made in connection with an idea for a giant River Nile for Francesco de’ Medici’s villa at Pratolino.

This composition is a dramatic re-working of a classical River God, usually shown lying down and supported on one elbow. The sculptor, Giambologna, would have been familiar with the numerous surviving examples from his intensive study of sculpture in Rome between 1550 and 1553, and again in 1572, when he was sent there by Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, along with Vasari, and his fellow sculptor Ammanati.