Abduction of a Sabine Woman

Abduction of a Sabine Woman is a large and complex marble statue by the Flemish sculptor and architect Giambologna. It was completed between 1579 and 1583 when Giambologna was a student at the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Rome, under he patronage of Cosimo I de' Medici. Giambologna achieved widespread fame in his lifetime, and this work is widely considered his masterpiece. It has been in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, since August 1582.The statue is composed in the figura serpentina style. It depicts three nude figures: a young man in the center who has seemingly taken a woman from an despairing older man below him. It is ostensibly based on the rape of the Sabine Women incident from the early history of Rome when the city contained relatively few women, leading to their men committing a raptio of young women from nearby towns and cities.