FRENCH, THE FIRST AFTER GIAMBOLOGNA, THE SECOND AFTER FRANCOIS GIRARDON, LATE 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

These bronze groups, each representing a complex multi-figure composition, are derived from different sources but have been put together to create a new, and highly decorative, pair. The Abduction of Proserpina by Girardon was originally conceived as a marble as part of a commission of four marble groups by different artists for the first Parterre d'Eau at Versailles (F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Paris 1981, p. 42). The Girardon group is dated 1699. The Rape of a Sabine Woman is considered to be Giambologna's greatest achievement in marble. It was unveiled in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, on 14 January, 1583 (C. Avery, Giambologna: The Complete Sculpture, Oxford, 1987, pp. 109-114).