Giambologna [Paperback]

This is a good, affordable monograph on giambologna, the most significant European sculptor in the period between Michelangelo and Bernini. The plates are large and numerous, and the photography by David Finn is good as usual, particularly notable is his use of dynamic camera angles and soft focus, and his prudential restraint concerning lighting.

So really, this is a five star book, but for a single glaring misstep. The cover of the latest (2006) edition (pictured above), while certainly well-designed, features a photo that has been digitally extracted from its background and pasted onto a stark black field. This process necessarily entails the alteration of the original photo and the desecration of the integrity of the sculpture. It is particularly clear in this case since the original photo, with its background intact, is also included in the book. A closer analysis of the contours reveals that the bungler who carried out the hatchet job made several painful mistakes - he cut off half of the back foot of the Sabine and omitted a portion of the head of the kneeling figure, but included part of the brick wall above that figure's arm and another portion lateral to his knee. This unkown ignoramus also added a window frame from the background to the contour of the standing figure's left leg at the knee. In addition to these egregious, mind-boggling errors, the quality of the contour also suffers the most savage violation - it is everywhere razor sharp, grossly simplified and distorted, and painfully obvious at the smaller details such as the fingers. The overall effect produced is as if a kindergartner, having freshly gained the custody of a pair of safety scissors, carefully snipped the photo and dutifully pasted it onto black construction paper. Whoever did this did not understand Giambologna, sculpture, vision, or anatomy. They betray an ignorance of the form, rhythm, and grace that are the hallmarks of Giambologna's genius. It is an outrage and an atrocity against art - but it doesn't stop there.

Athough there are other instances of post-production abuse throughout the text (though thankfully they are the minority), the most salient concern is for the fate of sculpture books yet to be published. In Phaidon's more recently published Rodin monograph, which I also reviewed, the digital snipping technique is used extensively. This technique is the bane of modern photography, and can be seen everywhere from magazine adds to the coffee table photo books of dorling kindersley and andrew zuckerman. To see it now encroaching on fine art sculpture books is a nightmare, for the love of god Phaidon stop this unholy holocaust now.

GIAMBOLOGNA: THE COMPLETE SCULPTURE is a weighty tome, not only in how it feels on the lap for reading, but also for the amount of imagery and historical detail it contains. Giambologna (1529 - 1608), was a sculptor, known for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style. But that definition hardly does this artist justice for his works that are as vital today as they were controversial in the time in which he created them. The art community was accustomed to the grandeur of Michelangelo's works took some time to respond positively to the mannerist style of his work. Yes, he did friezes and statuary for cathedrals but he also stepped away form religious ideas and created many sculptures of the wealthy patrons as well as highly sensual works such as the 'Hercules and the Centaur', 'The Rape of the Sabine Women', 'Samson slaying the Philistine', and the still very popular 'Mercury' as well as many fountains such as the Neptune Fountain.

Charles Avery, art historian, Christie's director, curator and the creator of the now famous exhibition of the works of this artist in the 1970s, writes well and offers not only technical insights into the individual pieces so beautifully photographed by David Finn, but also intriguing aspects of the life an times of this controversial artist. The book follows the high publishing standards of Phaidon and is well worth the price. There likely will be no better surveys of the works of Giambologna than this excellent one. Grady Harp, March 11

Having attended the Florida State University Study Program "a Firenze" from June to December 1976 and having returned nearly ten times since, Giambologna became one of my favorite Renaissance-Mannerist-Baroque sculptors. This book very well summarizes his life and works. Please enjoy learning more about Giambologna!

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