MIT Libraries homeDome

Close frontal view looking up; Giambologna set to work on his last autograph marble carving, which also had an equine component, for it depicted Hercules Slaying a Centaur (1595-1600; Florence, Loggia Lanzi). It originally stood on a street corner and was set high on a pedestal, which conditioned the way in which it was to be viewed--it must have looked more imposing than it does in its present location. The vigorous torsions of the bodies of victor and victim, the compressed springing of the horse-body and the excited thrashing of the tail (which is daringly undercut) build up a highly dramatic composition. Indeed, it was a proto-Baroque sculpture that was to be influential on Bernini. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/9/2007)