The Cleveland Museum of Art has acquired Giambologna's marble sculpture *Fata Morgana* (ca. 1572), believed to be the last marble work by the Flanders-born Italian Mannerist in private hands. The piece, which depicts a nude woman emerging from a grotto, was originally commissioned by banker Bernardo Vecchietti and remained with his family for 200 years before being sold in 1775. It was misattributed for centuries until London dealer Patricia Wengraf correctly identified it at a 1989 Christie's auction, purchasing it for £715,000. The museum acquired the sculpture for an undisclosed price, making it only the second Giambologna marble in the U.S. and one of just three outside Italy.
This acquisition is significant because Giambologna is a pivotal figure bridging High Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, yet his marble works are exceedingly rare—only about a dozen exist. The piece enriches the Cleveland Museum's narrative of art history and offers audiences a chance to engage with a masterwork of Mannerist sculpture that had been lost to misattribution for centuries. The purchase also highlights the ongoing importance of provenance research and dealer expertise in recovering overlooked masterpieces.