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Lion Attacking a Horse
(Baroque Europe )
A damaged but expressive Hellenistic marble sculpture of a "Lion Attacking a Horse" in Rome (now in the garden of the Palazzo dei Conservatori) offered a challenge to artists to figure out how it originally looked. The group was restored in 1594.
Giambologna, the sculptor of Flemish origins who dominated Florentine sculpture in the late 1500s, explored the subject in models for small bronzes around 1580-1589, which proved popular and continued to be cast long after his death. Individual examples exhibit variations. At least two casts were in Flemish collections, and this one is related to a version owned by the Emperor Rudolf II (now in Vienna). However, here the horse's forelock is lengthened and twisted into a small, spiral horn, evoking the unicorn of medieval legend and therefore appealing to a collector.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [1900 suppl. cat. no. 98] [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2007-2008 | Déjà Vu? The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1995 | The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1993 | A Renaissance Puzzle: Heemskerck's Abduction of Helen. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Joseph Ternbach: Conservator, Collector. Queens Museum of Art, Flushing. |
| 1971-1972 | World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1963-1965 | The Mannerists. Fort Wayne Art Museum, Indiana, Fort Wayne; Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Loan Consideration | examined for loan | |
| 11/18/1958 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 1/1/1965 | Treatment | repaired |
| 4/26/1978 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 8/1/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 12/1/1987 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 12/17/1987 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 1/1/2002 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 7/31/2002 | Technical Report | other |
Geographies
Italy, Florence (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.669