‘Rape of the Sabines’ by Giovanni Bologna c.1579

Sketch model for the ‘Rape of the Sabines’ by Giovanni Bologna c.1579

Shown in the V & A museum, the attention to detail on this 500 years old wax model was amazingly intricate. 

The tag for the model reads “ Working on marble on a grand scale was technically difficult. Spurred on by Michelangelo’s unfulfilled plans to produce a three-figure marble group, Giambologna rose to the challenge. These two wax models, with their complex arrangement of interlocking figures, represent the first stages in his design. The resulting sculpture was given it’s title only after Francesco de'Medici put it on public display in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence.”