Giambologna Gigante Pratolino

Dear Art Lover,

     The world is smaller than we ever imagine.  Or in this case at least, timing was coincidental.  My friend Ruth Glendining in Austin, Texas, recently posted to my Facebook page about hidden rooms underneath Giambologna’s famous giant sculpture of an old bearded man in Pratolino.  Check out the story here:
http://www.boredpanda.com/appennino-sculpture-colossus-giambologna-florence-italy/

     As luck would have it, artist Roberto Coccoloni had been invited me to his art opening at the Locanda, inside this same Parco Mediceo di Pratolino. Roberto is a stone and wood carver that I met many years ago at a dinner with Italians at Le Giubbe Rosse, the historical artists’ hangout in Firenze.  Roberto has many sculptures on exhibition at the Locanda with a group of painters and photographers called Artisti Fiesolani. 

      Thankfully, Roberto called me last night to tell me to take Bus 25 from Piazza San Marco in Florence.  I was visiting a friend in nearby Sesto Fiorentino and hopped on the train back to Florence in the drizzling rain and walked to the piazza.  I did not realize that there was a bus that would take one almost directly to this famous park.  Pratolino is at the end of the line for Bus 25.  Then one walks in the direction the bus goes when it leaves.  Make the first right; then right again a block away where the road Ts.  The park is a short walk downhill on the left.  It is very easy to find.  [But to warn you, I caught the 25L bus back and it only takes one to Piazza Libertà in Firenze.  The later and last bus [25A] last evening left at 8:45 p.m.  It may have returned me to Piazza San Marco.]

     I had hoped to arrive in time to see the changes since my first visit five years ago.  But between the drizzle and the fading light, I chose to just go see Giambologna’s Gigante again before heading over to the exhibition.  Giambologna created his giant old man sculpture titled Il Colosso dell'Appennino (“The Apennine Colossus”) in 1579-1580.  It is true that there are rooms underneath his art, but I have not been inside any of them.

     Can you imagine the surprise of people centuries ago who traversed this land and stumbled upon this enormous figure in the landscape?  Even today, Il Colosso slowly reveals himself behind a fence, tall grasses and large lily pads and other pond plants edging a small lake.  You may get an idea of his size by seeing the small doorway in front of the pond.

 

       A pretty cool dragon guards the backside of this seemingly gentle giant.  Two levels of grotto or rooms are below.  One may see inside the lit room a headless standing marble figure.

     I headed into the exhibition in La Locanda building.  Roberto greeted me warmly and I went inside to see his art on the ground floor, and then the upstairs for the 2-d art.  During the presentation, there was music and a sort of theatre musical performance of a woman dancing and singing in a soulful and mournful operatic voice. Here is an image of Robert’s sculpture Gesto [“Gesture”] in marble and Pietra vacica [the black stone on the head].  It is 30 h x 10 x 10 cm, created in 2006.

     Although I received an invitation to join Roberto and his friends for dinner, I was afraid that there was not enough time for me to catch the last bus back to Firenze and opted out.  However, before I said my goodbyes, I told them that I HAD to go see again Il Colosso in the dark!  I had an idea from the lighted pathways that he might also be lit.  I could not imagine when I might be back to Pratolino and if the sculpture were even accessible normally after the sun has set.  I snapped what photos I could, without a tripod sadly and in the light rain.  I was happy that the others had followed me out a little later and told me that I had had an ottima idée!

     The rain was starting to come down more and I was pretty cold.  I had no umbrella and was not dressed properly.  Sadly, I have not yet been able to retrieve the things I left in storage in Italia.  All I have with me is what I packed for the plane ride from the USA.  People who pay attention to such things might know that I carry far fewer personal items and clothes than I do computers and art materials, so I have had little to wear this first week in Italia and the weather is dramatically cooler than what I experienced during my time in the States.  Whoops… that was not fore-thinking of me!

     Here are my posts about this park back in 2010, my first visit.  The park has been closed for 3-4 years for restoration.  Entrance last evening was free, but they have put out a tip jar if you feel so inclined.  That is an amazing offer since it must have cost them a fair amount of money to close for several years to work on the place.  I am delighted that it is open again.
http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2010/09/giambologna-sculpture-pratolino.html

http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2010/09/pratolino-sculpture-italy.html

http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2010/09/seashells-and-dragon.html


Thank you for reading and making it all possible.
Peace,
Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Seashells and a Dragon

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

In my last post, I told you about Giambologna’s gentle giant sculpture in Pratolino, Italy. If you were to follow the path in front of the pond to the right, circling the brick and stone figure of Il Colosso dell'Appennino (“The Apennine Colossus”), you would discover … a dragon!


In the mid-1500s, Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (25 March 1541 – 17 October 1587) hired architect Bernardo Buontalenti to create a holiday house of sorts for his amore, the Venetian Bianca Cappello. Buontalenti was also a stage and theatrical designer (and even has a flavor of gelato named after him!), which perhaps made him the perfect choice to design this fantasyland, blending technology with nature. It is said that he created “The Garden of Wonders” because of its “artificial grottoes, water tricks, and statues.” Most signs of this fun architecture are gone now.

However, behind the sculpture of the giant and under the dragon lies one of the artificial grottoes, inside of the gate you see in the image. The highly textured walls are decorated with sea shells and colored patterns, in a very different sort of mosaic. You may see the dark entryway of a tunnel or cave just south of the center of the second image



I was reminded of my visit to Hellbrunn Palace, just south of Salzburg, Austria. The backdrops for the Wasserspiele trick fountains had a similar textural effect. And of course, a mosaic of seashells makes sense when it come to fountains and water tricks.

I find this recollection interesting considering that Francesco is reported to have started this villa and gardens for his future wife Bianca Cappello, while he was still married to his first wife Johanna of Austria. Reportedly, Francesco’s father Cosimo I de' Medici decorated significant parts of Florence with a more Austrian taste to make Johanna feel more welcome. I wonder what Francesco’s thoughts were . . .

Johanna of Austria does not appear to have had a happy life in Tuscany and her untimely accidental death resulted in plenty of rumors, especially after the wedding of Francesco and Bianca. Oddly enough, Francesco and Bianca died on the same day and the villa was abandoned for some time. If you would like to read more about the circumstances of these deaths, just click on the names in this blog post.

Scientific Itineraries in Tuscany

Discover Tuscany: Includes link to more images

Giambologna Sculpture Pratolino

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Before I left Italy, I wanted to go see the huge sculpture by Giambologna in the Parco Mediceo di Pratolino. This free and mostly green space is about 12 km from Florence, along the road to Bologna.

I would have taken some images of the beautiful scenery up in the hills on the way there, but I was a passenger on the back of an Aprilia racing bike and really wanted to hold on. [At one point, I felt an instant and dramatic pain that made me wonder if somehow I had gotten an electric shock from the moto. After disembarking from the bike, I was told, “Oh, that was the sting of a wasp as his ass went through his head: What you might call ‘roadkill’.” True enough: About five minutes into the park, I had forgotten about the small red raised bump the size of a dime on my forearm.]


From 1568, the Park in Pratolino began as a private estate of the Medici family, Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (25 March 1541 – 17 October 1587) is reported to have built the space designed by architect Bernardino Buontalenti for his then mistress-later second wife Bianca Cappello. Giambologna created his giant figure titled Il Colosso dell'Appennino (“The Apennine Colossus”) in 1579-1580.




The figure is so cool, with the beard becoming a wonderful compositional device that also adds so much emotion to the sculpture. Signs say that the sculpture is made up of brick and stone, but I cannot quite figure that out. The bricks can be seen in a few places, where one can glimpse the underlying sculpture. The stone part, with its stalactite shapes and textures, strikes me as more like cement. In Roma six years ago, I heard a tour guide say that cement was actually invented by the Romans – and centuries before I ever thought it existed. Tour guides are not always accurate, but the thought does give me pause…

There is an artificial grotto underneath him (more about that in the next post) and in front is a large fish-stocked pond. This pond has the largest lilies and pads that I have ever seen: appropriately beautiful.


I love this view of the giant through the woods. Imagine approaching such a thing for the first time, not knowing it was there. You might wonder if that was truly a face that you could see in-between patches of green. This sculpture is truly fascinating.


I include here a few images by sculptor Simon Steele, including this last one, taken from a distance. It is a good composition, but also shows you how large this sculpture is in comparison to the land. And the centuries-old trees here are simply gorgeous!

The park is generally open from May through September and is free.

Giambologna’s most famous sculptures include the bronze “Fountain of Neptune” in Bologna, the first commission that made his famous; the marble “The Abduction of the Sabines” (incorrectly translated as “The Rape of the Sabines” and also given its title by someone else after his composition was completed); and the bronze Mercurio in the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy.

Other links of interest:
Scientific Itineraries in Tuscany

Discover Tuscany: Includes link to more images