ne in them. In
religious subjects Giovanni was not at home; his most successful works
were those which represented sentiment or abstract ideas, because on
them he could lavish his skill in execution, and use ornaments that did
not suit the simplicity of religious subjects. In the Loggia de' Lanzi,
at Florence, there are two groups by him, the Rape of the Sabines and
Hercules and Nessus. In the Piazza della Signoria is his excellent
statue of Duke Cosmo I., and in the Uffizi Gallery a bronze statue of
Mercury. The Rape of the Sabines is his masterpiece, and the Mercury is
one of the best works of its kind since the days of classic art. It is
the favorite Mercury of the world, and has been frequently copied. It is
seen in many galleries and collections in its original size, and a small
copy is much used in private houses. (Fig. 109.)

Giovanni was especially happy in his designs for fountains, and that
which he erected in Bologna, in 1564, in front of the Palazzo Pubblico,
is a splendid work of this kind. The statue of Neptune at its summit is
stately and free in its action; the children are charming and life-like,
and the Sirens at the base give an harmonious finish and complete the
outline with easy grace.

He also erected a magnificent fountain in the island of the Boboli
Gardens. In the Palazzo Vecchio is a marble group by Giovanni
representing Virtue conquering Vice. At Petraja there is a beautiful
Venus crowning a fountain remarkable for grace and delicacy, and, all in
all, his works prove him to have been the best sculptor of his own time.
Tuscany may claim him and be proud of him, for he was far more her son
than that of his native Flanders.

Giovanni da Bologna was far less successful in reliefs than in statues,
as may be seen in the bronze gates to the Cathedral of Pisa, which he
made in the last years of his life. In his character this master was
attractive and much beloved by his friends. One of them wrote of him:
"The best fellow in the world, not in the least covetous, as he shows by
his poverty; filled with a love of glory, and ambitious of rivalling
Michael Angelo."

Giovanni decorated a chapel in the Church of the Annunziata with several
reliefs in bronze and with a crucifix; he not only wished to be buried
here himself, as he was, but he also desired to provide a place of
burial for any of his countrymen who might die in Florence. The chapel
is called that of the Madonna del Soccorso.

[Illustratio