Allegory of Architecture

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“Architettura” (Architecture) by Giambologna, 1580
Museo nazionale del Bargello (Bargello National Museum)
Via del Proconsolo
Florence, October 2013

“This is a creation from Jean de Boulogne's early period in Florence, which can be dated back to around 1565 and which was made from a single block of marble, including the base. Early mentions of the work date back to the 18th century, when Architettura is recorded as being in the Boboli gardens and being placed outside has allowed the elements to cause surface damage. This work most certainly came from the collection belonging to Francesco de' Medici, in which it stood as a sumptuous symbol of Geometry or Architettura: as can be seen by the sextant, compass and square that the young woman holds in her hand.
This is one of the seated virginal female figures that the sculptor created in response to the allegories of the artistic disciplines which became the centre of an academic discussion following the completion of the Arts for Michelangelo's Tomb in Santa Croce. The low level of finish on the back of the statue leads us to think that it was originally placed inside a niche. The work in marble, although spotted with cracks and integrations, shows us how the artist mixed his modern attention to nature (the girl´s pointed nipples, rounded stomach and supple legs) with a lucid construction, which can be seen here in the especially particularly gentle, flattened and coolly rounded forms.” (Architecture, Il Giambologna a Firenze)