Mercury

Artist Workshop of Giambologna (Netherlandish, 1529 - 1608)

Formerly attributed to Giovanni da Bologna (Italian, 1529 - 1608)

Datelate 16th century

MediumBronze

DimensionsOverall: 31 1/2 × 6 × 10 inches (80.01 × 15.24 × 25.4 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number66-26/1

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

European Art

Terms

Exhibition History

The Gods of High Olympus and a Hero, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 15-March 20, 1983, no. 40.

Gallery Label

Giambologna was born in Flanders but made his career in Italy, especially in Florence where he achieved great fame. Mercury, the messenger of the gods, is one of his best known images. The complex, expressive pose and the sleek elegance of Mercury's body and limbs are typical of the Italian Mannerist style of the late 16th century. This was to influence artists in northern Europe, as can be seen in the painting of Saint Sebastian hanging nearby by the Dutch artist, Wtewael.

Provenance

With Michael Hall Fine Arts, London, by 1966;

Purchased from Michael Hall Fine Arts by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1966.

Published References

Donald Hoffman, “A Gallery Talk on Rare Items,” Kansas City Times 22 (October 20, 1966): 47, (repro.).

“Renaissance Bronzes Find a Home at the Nelson,” (October 23, 1966): 50, clipping, scrapbook, NAMA Archives, vol. 22.

“Checklist of Acquisitions, 1962-1966,” Bulletin (The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum) 4, no. 8 (December 1967): 23, (repro.).

“Gallery Tour Booklet for Docents,” NAMA Department of Education (August 1969): unpaginated.

Ralph T. Coe, “Small European Sculptures,” Apollo 96, no. 130 (December 1972): 48, 51, (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 1, Art of the Occident, 5^th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 92, (repro.).

William D. Wixom, Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections, exh. cat. (Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975), unpaginated, (repro.).

The Gods of High Olympus and a Hero, exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1983), 4, 13, (repro.).

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