Manner of Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686) | Italian, Florence, late 17th/ early 18th century | Rearing Horse

This dynamic bronze horse relates to a number of similar models of leaping and rearing horses associated with the Florentine workshop of Ferdinando Tacca. Ultimately derived from Pietro Tacca's equestrian statue of Carlo Emmanuele of Savoy, this series of horses is distinguished by their thick and vigorously modelled manes, a somewhat rotund anatomy, and an upturned muzzle. The attribution of several such bronzes to Ferdinando Tacca, including two examples in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome, was proposed by Katherine Watson in 1978 (op. cit., pp. 183-184). While the present model's movement is near-identical to that of the Leaping Horse in the Palazzo Venezia (op. cit., no. 165), its softly flowing mane and less animated tail are analogous to a horse from the Robert von Mendelssohn collection (op. cit., no. 168). A related Rearing Horse in the Museo Civico, Bologna (op. cit., no. 167) provides a parallel for the inclusion of a bridle and collar.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, Giambologna: Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat., London, 1978