Giambologna
Flemish, active in Florence, 1529–1608
Bull, ca. 1590 or later
Bronze
Gift of Chancellor Herman B Wells IUAM 61.14

Jean Boulogne traveled from Flanders to Italy in 1550 to study the masterpieces of classical and Renaissance sculpture. As court sculptor in Florence, he became known by an Italian spelling of his name, and by the end of the century he was one of the most influential sculptors in Europe.

This small model of a bull, done in the spirit of ancient sculpture, was a very popular product of his large workshop. This finely chased example may have been cast by his assistant, Antonio Susini.

Wells purchased this piece on the recommendation of the museum’s first director, Henry Hope. “It was on my desk for a while where I could admire it,” he remembered, “but, of course, the wisecracks about having a bull on the President’s desk indicated that I should move it on to the museum.”

© 2001 Indiana University Art Museum
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Photographs of artworks: Michael Cavanagh and Kevin Montague.
Photographs of Herman B Wells: Courtesy of IU Office of Communications and Marketing.