HALL OF THE COLOSSUS

When you enter the Accademia gallery, this hall of the colossus is the first place you can see. This hall was completely redesigned in December 2013.

This room was named in the nineteenth century when it contained a plaster-cast model of an old statue. It is no longer on display at the Accademia Gallery. It now houses the plaster model of Giambologna’s stunning marble sculpture, Rape of the Sabines (from about 1580).

Giambologna created the model to show virtuosity. It is a tight-knit grouping of three figures carved from a single block of marble. This gives the observer multiple perspectives. The original marble sculpture, completed in 1582, can be admired under the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria.

The plaster of Giambologna is surrounded by a collection of artworks on religious subjects dating from the 15th century to the early 16th century.

There are many panel paintings on the wall of the hall of the colossus, mostly in small sizes. This wall has paintings by Paolo Uccello, Perugino, Filippino Lippi, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Botticelli.