Paris and Helen

By 1558 Vincenzo had begun two important works in Rome, the marble tombs, figural bronzes and stuccoed reliefs of the Cesi Chapel in Santa Maria della Pace and the marble group depicting Paris and Helen. Ignoring Bandinelli's exhortations to return to Florence, de' Rossi remained in Rome to complete these works. According to Vasari, the Cesi Chapel established his reputation, while according to Borghini it was Paris and Helen, which was purchased by the Medici family, and transported to Florence in 1560, that gained him entry into Cosimo's court and hence to Medicean patronage.

Sculpted from a single block of marble, the latter group is a vital reference point in the assessment of de' Rossi's stylistic development. It comprises the Trojan prince, Helen and a boar. The human figures are positioned above the boar in a manner that recalls Michelangelo's Victory or Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus, but de' Rossi's use of three components better satisfies mid-century notions of difficoltà and sprezzatura (effortless ability). The figures of Paris and Helen are often compared with Bandinelli's Adam and Eve and may also have been inspired by a figural grouping such as the Roman copy of the Satyr and a Youth (Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome) attributed to Heliodoros, which was then in the collection of the Cesi family. De' Rossi's grouping, even more than the possible antique source, focuses on Helen's struggle with her abductor, her sensuous, writhing body and pained expression contrasting strongly with those of Paris.

The strap worn by Paris is inscribed VINCENTIUS DE RUBEIS CIVIS FLOREN.[TINUS] OPUS and echoes the strap on the Virgin's garment in Michelangelo's Pietà.

The marble group of Paris and Helen is located at the centre of the Buontalenti Grotto in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Built between 1583 and 1593, it is an artificial cave considered a masterpiece of architecture and culture.