A BRONZE GROUP OF A LION ATTACKING A HORSE

Giambologna's gifts as a creator of animalier bronzes were given full rein in this bronze of a Lion attacking a Horse. The prototype was a fragmentary marble group now in the garden of the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome, which was restored in 1594 by Ruggiero Bescap with the horse's head bowed forward in surrender. A rare variant by Giambologna shows a very similar solution, but here he has created a far more dramatic image, with the horse twisting his head back in pain.

Although no example of this bronze is signed by Giambologna, it is listed among his models in the early sources. Thus, in 1611, Markus Zeh referred to 'Un gruppo d'un lione ch'ammazo un cavallo', while in 1688 Baldinucci listed 'Il Cavallo ucciso dal Leone'.