Allegory of the Ganges River

Description

Sources agree in their identification with the allegory of Ganges. The beautiful figures may also allude to the three mythical ages of man. The genesis of this sculptural complex, which is well documented, is structured in several stages. According to Vasari, Tribolo, who was to make the fountain for the "meadow behind Pitti, " was sent to Elba by Cosimo I to have the granite cup quarried. There is news of the piece in 1567, when it arrived in Florence on July 17 with considerable difficulty, almost certainly at the behest of Giambologna, who at the time must have already designed this fountain. The Oxford drawing shows a variation of the design, with a hexagonal basin. Between 1571 and 1573 there are numerous documentary reports about the pieces of marble to be quarried in Carrara for the sculptural group and the triangular support. On March 6, 1574 Giambologna worked on the statues of the Rivers, probably still in the rough-hewn stage, with the help of Iacopo di Zanobi Piccardi-on October 16 another helper was Andrea di Jacopo-since by 1575 the three finished models as large as the works were ready, and they were transported from Pitti to the artist's studio on April 16 to be executed. From the following June 25 until October 30, 1576, payments were made for moving the finished marbles to the garden, and for the related installation of the ensemble . The fountain is remembered in the location behind the palace by Bocchi , and here it is recognizable in the 1599 Utens lunette. In 1618 according to the records of Giulio Parigi, it was moved, and only in 1637 placed in the center of the Island, as stated in a letter of July 20 to the Grand Duke. On this occasion the lower part with the drainage basin and the circular seat, much appreciated by Soldini, was added. The statue of Neptune, now in the Bargello, was replaced in 1811 by a copy by Raffaello Romanelli. The beautiful figures of the Seated Rivers, which echo Tribolo's 'River' for Villa Rinieri in Castell