Horses of the Fountain of Neptune

This painting was inspired by a photo I took last September of the Fountain of Neptune, located in Florence's Piazza Della Signoria. If you've never been to Florence, this is the same piazza that has a copy of Michaelangelo's David. In this fountain, the magnificent marble sea horses are emerging from the water, and Neptune—the Roman God of the sea who is surrounded by water nymphs that represent Tuscan naval victories—is the main focus of the centerpiece above. But because I really wanted the focus to be on the horses, I painted only a suggestion of Neptune and the nymphs. The fountain was created by Bartolomeo Ammannati and was commissioned by Francesco de'Medici for his wedding in December of 1565 with Grand Duchess Johanna of Austria. One other interesting fact—Neptune's figure was made to resemble Cosimo de'Medici. Powerful stuff.