Cleveland Museum of Art

The Abduction of a Sabine Woman

Andrea Andreani

Date

1584

Medium

chiaroscuro woodcut

Culture

Italy, 16th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A pinnacle of sculpture in the generation after Michelangelo was Giambologna’s Abduction of the Sabine Women , depicted here in a contemporaneous print by Andrea Andreani. Giambologna created a twisting harmony of three forms that capture the narrative of a Roman male abducting a Sabine woman and vanquishing a Sabine male below. Giambologna’s sculpture was installed in Florence in the public piazza near Michelangelo’s David . The Abduction of a Sabine Woman is the first attempt in the chiaroscuro technique by Andrea Andreani, as well as the first chiaroscuro ever to depict a work of sculpture.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.