Giacomo Rossi (Bologna, 1748 - 1817)
Victory (?), 1797 ca.
stucco; inv. S 18
original placement
Around 1797 the government of the Repubblica Cispadana commissioned a
series of five statues (Victory, The Genius, Vigilance, Minerva and
Juno) from the Neoclassical sculptors Giacomo De
Maria and Giacomo Rossi for the Galleria Vidoniana in the Palazzo
Comunale.
At the time, the room connected the apartments of the members
of the Cispadana Republic Directory.
The statues, representing allegorical and
mythological subjects, stand in niches upon classical fluted pedestals.
The portrayal of Victory is a break from the traditional depiction
based on Cesare Ripa's Iconography. Clothed in classical garments, the
figure wears a Greek helmet and a breastplate with a radiant sun at its
center.
With her left hand she holds a club (a symbol of Hercules or Strength)
while her right foot treads upon the world, which is under her
dominion. The two scrolls visible behind her could be rolled banners
(the conquered nations) or papyri (the ancient laws).
