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27 décembre 2017

Giovanni da Bologna, Mercury, Florence, before 1587

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Giovanni da Bologna (1524 / 1529-1608), sculptor, Mercury, Florence, before 1587. Bronze, wood post with ebony veneer and brass inlays. H 61.8 cm; H with base 72.7 cm. Green Vault, IX 94 © Dresden State Art Collections.

The Dresdner Merkur arrived in early 1587 as a diplomatic gift of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco I de 'Medici, in the collection of Christians I. The Elector arrived in the year before the government could understand this attention as a sign of great appreciation, because the flying Mercury counted to the gifts that Florence sent only to selected recipients. As an embodiment of the princely virtue of resisting an uncertain fate and as a symbol of industria (skill) and felicitas (happiness), he was thus able in many ways to refer to the "good government" of Schenker and Beschenktem. Artistically, the Grand Ducal gift was of extraordinary rank. Flying Mercury is one of Giambologna's best-known compositions and can be considered a prime example of the virtuoso overcoming of the artistic and material boundaries of sculpture. In spite of the heavy materiality of the bronze, the figure, balanced on just one point, the ball of the foot, gives the impression of a feathery lightness that almost makes one forget the daring of this artistic solution.
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