Samson - Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
N 51° 29.769 W 000° 10.317
30U E 696301 N 5708793
This statue, of "Samson Slaying a Philistine", is located in the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London. The sculpture is by Giambologna.
Waymark Code: WMHV9E
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/15/2013
Views: 3
The information board on the plinth tells us:
Samson Slaying A Philistine
About 1562
Giovanni Bologna, called Giambologna
Giambologna, working at the court of the Medici grand-dukes of Tuscany,
became the most famous and influential sculptor of his day. This spectacular
marble group, made for Francesco de’ Medici, was his first major commission.
In it, he achieved his ambition to create a two-figure group in movement,
with several different viewpoints. Originally placed atop a fountain in the
herb garden of Francesco's palace in Florence, the group was sent to Spain
in 1601 as a diplomatic gift.
The
V&A Museum website tells us about the piece:
The only monumental marble sculpture by Giambologna
ever to have left Florence was acquired by the Museum in 1953 with the
assistance of the Art Fund. It is a group nearly seven feet high (210
centimetres) showing two nude men in combat, and representing Samson slaying
a Philistine, an episode from the Old Testament 'Book of Judges': 'And he
found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it and slew a
thousand men therewith.'
The group bears the weathered remains of the sculptor's usual signature on
the strap across Samson's chest: 'I ... BELGAE ... '. The statue has been in
England for over 300 years and accordingly, despite its Italian origin, is
an integral part of our national artistic heritage. Ever since the 17th
century it has set a standard of aesthetic achievement and technical
virtuosity that has challenged and inspired artists and patrons in this
country. This is attested by full-scale casts in lead by Nost and Cheere in
the gardens of country houses and lively sketches and paintings by, for
example, Sir John Baptist Medina (1659–1710).
The
Bible Gateway website contains the appropriate paragraph, relating to the
sculpture, from the King James Bible that reads:
Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah,
and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up
against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him
as he hath done to us. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of
the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are
rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto
them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him,
We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the
Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall
upon me yourselves. And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind
thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill
thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the
rock.
And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the
Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his
arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off
his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and
took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the
jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a
thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that
he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.
Associated Religion(s): Hebrew
Statue Location: Victoria & Albert Museum
Entrance Fee: Free
Artist: Giambologna
Website: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions: Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.
|