Giovanni Bologna: Mercury - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Giovanni Bologna: Mercury

ENLARGE

The son of Jupiter and the messenger of the gods, Mercury was worshipped in Roman times as the god of traders and merchants, and his popularity spread with the extension of Roman power, influence, and trade. Giovanni Bologna (1529–1608), a Flemish artist working in the Medici court of the Grand Duke Cosimo I in Florence, created four distinctly different bronze sculptures of Mercury, each version more refined than the preceding one. Composing his subject in the figura serpentine, or, ascending corkscrew arrangement, Bologna forces the viewer’s eye to travel both over and around the sculpture. The Museum’s Mercury statue reproduces one of Bologna’s later models, in which form and attitude combine to achieve a lightness and grace of movement that seems to defy gravity. Mercury is depicted with the typical winged feet, gliding through space. In his left hand is the caduceus, a wand carried by ancient Greek heralds as a symbol of immunity during war, a form of two snakes intertwined about an olive branch that is capped by wings. The Museum's reproduction is made from a mold of the original statue.

Bonded bronze, hand patinated: height including base 14 3/4 in.; base width 3 1/2 in., base length 3 1/2 in. Bronze: height including base 17 1/2 in.; base width 3 in., base length 3 in.

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The bronze version of this item is currently out of stock. Please note that you may receive an "item backordered" message on your order confirmation email.

Giovanni Bologna: Mercury, Bonded Bronze
06-017156
Member Price: $540.00 each
Non-Member Price: $600.00 each

Giovanni Bologna: Mercury, Bronze
06-000590
Member Price: $3,595.50 each
Non-Member Price: $3,995.00 each

Quantity:


Met Bestseller - Karl Bitter: Diana 06-016489 Member Price: $445.50 Non-Member Price: $495.00		Unknown Artist: Kwan Yin 06-016893 Member Price: $202.50 Non-Member Price: $225.00		Unknown Artist: Ganesha 06-017073 Member Price: $270.00 Non-Member Price: $300.00

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