A Renaissance Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de' Medici, gazes skyward from his vantage point on the cathedral steps in Arezzo, eastern Tuscany, Italy: 1594 marble statue designed by one Flemish sculptor, Giambologna, and sculpted by another, Pierre Franqueville, more often known as Pietro Francavilla.
Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy: this monumental marble statue of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, was placed in 1594 on the steps of the city's cathedral overlooking Piazza del Duomo. It was commissioned by Arezzo's citizens to thank Ferdinando, in his lifetime, for his achievement in reclaiming the swampy Val di Chiana, an alluvial valley some 62 miles long. Ferdinando I (1549-1609) was the son of Grand Duke Cosimo I (1519-1574) and Eleanor of Toledo. He succeeded his elder brother Francesco to the title aged 38. He was an able administrator who re-established Tuscany's judicial system, fostered commerce between Florence and Pisa and launched the irrigation project that drained the Val di Chiana, allowing its flatlands to be cultivated. Florence's greatest cultural achievement during his reign was the introduction of opera to Europe. The statue was the work of two sculptors with a Flemish background. It was designed by Jean de Boulogne (1529-1608), more usually known as Giambologna, but was sculpted by Pierre Franqueville (1548-1615), generally known as Pietro Francavilla. He was a Franco-Flemish sculptor who trained in Florence and created artworks for both Italian and French patrons in the Late Mannerist artistic tradition.
Size: 2848px × 4288px
Location: Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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