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Mercury, bronze figure by Giambologna, 1580; in the Bargello … (credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York)

(born 1529, Douai, Spanish Neth. — died Aug. 13, 1608, Florence) Flemish-born Italian sculptor. After studies under Jacques Dubroeucq, he went to Rome in 1550, where his style was influenced by Hellenistic sculpture and the works of Michelangelo; he settled in Florence in 1552. He produced many of his most important works for the Medici family, but it was the Fountain of Neptune (1563 – 66) in Bologna that made him famous. His bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I (1587 – 93), the first of its kind made in Florence, became a pattern for similar statues all over Europe. His garden sculptures — notably for Florence's Boboli Gardens and for three Medici villas, including the colossal Apennine (1570 – 80) at Pratolino — enjoyed great popularity. He was also a prolific manufacturer of bronze statuettes; many of his working models still survive. He was the outstanding sculptor of Italian Mannerism.

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