This sculpture of a lion attacking a horse is a companion, or pendant, to the similar bronze group displayed nearby that shows a leopard bringing down a bull. Together, these works encapsulate the elegance and energy of bronze sculpture in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Florence. Due to its tensile strength, bronze is a particularly suitable medium for groups of battling figures.

The battle between lion and horse was probably cast by the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Francesco Susini, from a model made by his uncle, Antonio, in the 1580s. While this specific composition derives from a famous ancient marble sculpture in Rome, the overlapping between lion and horse is comparable to the twisting poses of sculptural groups made in Florence by Giambologna and others, following the example set by Michelangelo. Such groups, whose poses became increasingly extreme and contorted, presented both a technical challenge and an opportunity to prove one’s skillful handling of the medium.

The Leopard Attacking a Bull composition dates from about fifty years later. Like its companion, it was intended to be viewed from multiple viewpoints. When seen in the round, the focus of this group is no longer an overlapping of twisted bodies but rather a game of alternating voids and masses.

Both groups are finished with great attention to detail. Look closely to see the leopard’s spots, which have been chased into the metal. In the lion and horse group, the lion’s claws and teeth tear into the horse’s hide.

Considered individually or as a pair, the groups of animals may have prompted sixteenth- and seventeenth-century viewers to reflect on power and virtue. Both present a predator overwhelming its prey. As a pair, the struggling horse, its hooves thrashing, could be emblematic of heroic, if futile, combat, while the bull, by contrast, falls to its knees, a helpless victim that has capitulated to its aggressor.