Samson and the Lion
Cristoforo Stati
1604–7
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
210 × 112 × 84 cm (82 11/16 × 44 1/8 × 33 1/8 in.)
Classification
large scale
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
146875
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Samson’s encounter with a lion was one of the legendary Israelite hero’s earliest feats. Here, Cristoforo Stati emphasized Samson’s bulging muscles as he effortlessly tears apart the lion’s jaw. Stati studied in Florence under Flemish-born artist Jean de Boulogne, called Giambologna. In 1601 Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Archduke of Tuscany, sent a sculpture of Samson by Giambologna as a diplomatic gift to the Duke of Lerma, the prime minister of Spain. After that work traveled from Florence to Lerma...