|
Pietro Tacca's last important commission, the equestrian monument to Philip IV, King of Spain, begun in 1634, is one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of Western sculpture. Influenced by contemporary court painting, Philip had expressed a wish to be represented on a rearing horse, and Tacca's lifelong study of casting helped him to resolve, with advice from Galileo Galilei, the problem of how to achieve this on a monumental scale. The horse was cast in 1639, the figure in 1640, and both were shipped to Spain just before Tacca's death. During the following two years they were united and erected, under Ferdinando's supervision, in the garden of Buen Retiro, Madrid; the statue was moved to the Plaza de Oriente in 1844.
|
