The pulpit in the ''pieve'' of Sant'Andrea,

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

is a masterpiece by the Italian sculptor

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano () was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Mo ...

, completed in 1301. It has many similarities with the groundbreaking pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery of 1260 by Giovanni's father

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; /1225 – ) was an Italian sculpture, sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Ancient Rome, Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered ...

, which was followed by the Siena Cathedral Pulpit, which Giovanni had assisted with. These very advanced works are often described in terms such as "proto-Renaissance", and draw on Ancient Roman

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

and other influences to form a style that represents an early revival of

classical sculpture Classical sculpture (usually with a lower case "c") refers generally to sculpture from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, as well as the Hellenized and Romanized civilizations under their rule or influence, from about 500 BC to around 200 AD. It ...

, while also remaining Gothic, and drawing on sources such as French

ivory carving Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories". Humans have ornamentally carved ivory sinc ...

s. However, Giovanni's style moved away from the strong classicism of his father's style to one more influenced by northern

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

History

According to an inscription running between the pulpit's arcades and parapets, it was commissioned by Canon Arnoldus (Arnoldo) and supervised by the treasurers Andrea Vitelli and Tino di Vitale.

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ide ...

says the commission was given in 1297, and the inscription records its completion in 1301. There is no false modesty: "Giovanni carved it, who performed no empty work. The son of Nicola, and blessed with higher skill, Pisa gave him birth, endowed with mastery greater than any seen before". Giovanni was approaching the age of fifty when he began the work, and had worked on his father's projects, and possibly visited France.

Description

The structure is similar to the pulpit in Pisa: a hexagonal plan with seven columns (one in the middle), two of which are supported by lions and one by a stooping figure of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

, while the central one rests on three winged

gryphons The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk o ...

and the remaining ones on plain bases. The organization of the parapet's

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s is inspired by the pulpit in Siena. The iconographic program is also inspired by Nicola's work, with "Allegories" in the

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s of the arches, "

Sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

s" and "

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

s standing on the capitals' tops, and the five parapets with the following scenes from the '' Life of Christ'': *"

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

", "Nativity" with the apocryphal detail of the midwives bathing the baby Christ and an "

Annunciation to the Shepherds The annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. It is a common subject of Christian art and of Christmas carols. Bibl ...

" *" Dream of the Magi" *"

Massacre of the Innocents The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew ( 2:16– 18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and u ...

" *" The Crucifixion" *"

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

" The sixth parapet is missing, as its side provides access to the pulpit; the original stairway has now been removed.

Style

The scenes are as crowded and dramatic as those of the Sienese pulpit. Most notable is the scene of the "Massacre of the Innocents", for which it has been supposed that Giovanni took inspiration from German models, or even from the Trajan column in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. One of the

s, portrayed in the sudden gesture of fleeing towards an angel, is also of particular distinction. For the first time Pisano tilted the reliefs, with the upper parts projecting further than the lower, to allow for the position of the viewer below.Olson, 19 File:Giovanni pisano, aquila dal pulpito di sant'andrea di pistoia 01.JPG, The

eagle lectern An eagle lectern is a lectern in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible or other texts rest. They are common in Christian churches and may be in stone, wood or metal, usually brass. History Eagle lecterns in stone were a ...

, in the form of the Eagle of St John File:Pistoia chiesa san andria 007.JPG, "Massacre of the Innocents" File:Giovanni Pisano, Pulpito di Sant'Andrea, 1298-1301, Crocifissione 03 - Photo by Sailko Light corrections by Paolo Villa.jpg, ''The Crucifixion'' File:Giovanni pisano, pulpito di sant'andrea 10 crop.JPG, ''The Sybil and the Angel''

Notes

References

* * Henderson, George. ''Gothic'', 1967, Penguin, * Olson, Roberta J.M., ''Italian Renaissance Sculpture'', 1992, Thames & Hudson (World of Art), * Pope-Hennessy, John, ''Italian Gothic Sculpture'', Phaidon, 1986, * White, John. ''Art and Architecture in Italy, 1250 to 1400'', London, Penguin Books, 1966, 2nd edn 1987 (now Yale History of Art series). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulpit Of St. Andrew 1301 works Buildings and structures in Pistoia Gothic sculptures Tourist attractions in Tuscany Monuments and memorials in Tuscany Pulpits Duecento sculptures