|
After 1548 Cellini produced three marble statues of mythological subjects (all in Bargello): the Ganymede (1548-50), which was constructed by adding head, arms, feet and a base with an eagle to an antique torso given to Cosimo I by Stefano Colonna (d. 1548); the group of Apollo and Hyacinth; and the Narcissus, which was carved from a block of Greek marble that had been worn away by rainwater.
The chronology of the Apollo and Hyacinth and the Narcissus (both original works) is unclear, but they were produced some time in the period 1548-57. They were undoubtedly inspired by Cellini's desire to prove himself in Florence as a marble sculptor and to challenge on his own ground the Duke's favourite sculptor, Bandinelli: the results are not altogether convincing. Even if the small Ganymede (height ca. 1 m) may be considered a successful re-interpretation of Jacopo Sansovino's Bacchus, the (unfinished) Apollo and Hyacinth and the Narcissus cannot be included among Cellini's best works. It should, however, be remembered that the two statues were not rediscovered until 1940, having been exposed to the elements in the Boboli Gardens for nearly two centuries.
|
