Equestrian Monument to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Close view of base, depicting bronze ornament; Having achieved by the 1580s a complete mastery of the human form, Giambologna turned to the subject that had fascinated the ancient Greeks and Romans almost as much, the horse. He addressed the subject with a scientific approach derived from anatomical dissections culminating in a large bronze model of a Flayed Horse (U. Edinburgh, Talbot Rice Gal., Torrie Col.). This enabled him to create his masterpiece in bronze, the equestrian statue of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1587-1593; Florence, Piazza della Signoria). It was an immediate success and was replicated on the much reduced scale of statuettes, with a variety of different riders. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/23/2007