The manneristic celebrated group Rape of the Sabines by the Flemish artist Jean Boulogne, better known as Giambologna (1529-1608), is part of the statuary under the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence’s Piazza Signoria.
The massive statue is 4.10 meters high (statues became much bigger after Michelangelo’s David) and depicts a young man lifting a girl up over his shoulder, as an older man is crouched at his feet in complete dismay. For this reason, the statue is also known as the "Three ages of Man". At the base of the statue there is a bronze plaque that depicts scenes of the abduction of the Sabine women in bas-reliefs.
Shrouded within the park of Villa Demidoff, in Medici Villas (Unesco World Heritage List, 2013), Pratolino, Vaglia, Tuscany, just 7 miles north of Florence, Italy, there sits a gigantic 16th century sculpture - 14-meter-tall masterpiece statue - known as Colosso dell'Appennino, or the Appennine Colossus. The brooding structure was first erected in 1580 by Flemish sculptor Giambologna, pseudonym of Jean de Boulogne (Douai, 1529 - Florence, 1608).
Antonio Canova (1757-1822) was the leading proponent of Neoclassicism and Italy's last internationally famous artist.
The sculptor Antonio Canova, born in the village of Possagno in 1757, rose to celebrity from humble origins. For biographical notes -in english and italian- and works by Canova see Antonio Canova ~ Neoclassical sculptor.