Appennine Colossus

Appennine Colossus, vintage silver print glossy 8 x 10 fiber photograph. Credited to Maurice Babey, Basel.

The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1820: its remains are now part of Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna.

The complicated iconography of the garden is embodied in the brooding statue of "Appennino" (1579-1580), a colossal sculpture by Giambologna, which originally seemed to emerge from the vaulted rockwork niche that once surrounded him. Multiple grottoes with water-driven automata, a water organ, surprise jets that drenched visitors' finery when the fontanieri opened secret spigots, offered striking juxtapositions of Art with imitations of rugged Nature.

Printed in the second half of the 20th century as part of the American Heritage Publishing Archive.

Verso bears original filing notations and/or credit stamping. In very good condition.

Provenance: From the American Heritage Publishing Archives.