Giovanni Pisano
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano
Nicola Pisano
Nicola Pisano was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.- Early life :His birth date or origins are uncertain...
, he received his training in the workshop of his father.
In 1265–1268 he worked with his father at the pulpit
Pulpit (Siena Cathedral)
The pulpit of the Siena Cathedral was sculpted between the end of 1265 and November 1268 by Nicola Pisano with the extensive participation of his son Giovanni Pisano and his assistants Arnolfo di Cambio, Lapo di Ricevuto and several other artists...
in Siena Cathedral. The fountain Fontana Maggiore in Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
was his next major work with his father. By the end of this project in 1278 his father may already have died. Another possibility is that Nicola Pisano died in 1284 when Giovanni took up residence in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
. These first works were made in his father's style. It is difficult to tell who did exactly what. However the Madonna with Child can be attributed with certainty to Giovanni, showing a new style with a certain familiarity between Mother and Child.
His next work was in Pisa, sculpting the statues in the two rows of traceried gables at the exterior of the Baptistry (1277–1284). The vivacity of these statues is a new confirmation that he is leaving the serene style of his father behind.
He was appointed at the same time chief architect of Siena Cathedral between 1287 and 1296. This compelled him to travel often between these two cities. The elegant sculptures and the architectural design for the facade of the cathedral in Siena show his tendencies to blend Gothic art with reminders of Roman art.
In 1296 he returned to Pisa to begin work on the San Giovanni church. In 1301 he continued his work on the pulpit of St. Andrew
Pulpit of St. Andrew
The pulpit in the church of Sant' Andrea, Pistoia is a masterpiece of 1301 by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Pisano, in the pieve of Sant'Andrea, Pistoia, Italy....
for the church of S. Andrea in Pistoia, which he had already started in 1297. The five reliefs on the pulpit are the Annunciation and Nativity; the Adoration, Dream of the Magi and Angel warning Joseph; the Massacre of the Innocents
Massacre of the Innocents
The Massacre of the Innocents is an episode of infanticide by the King of Judea, Herod the Great. According to the Gospel of Matthew Herod orders the execution of all young male children in the village of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth...
; the Crucifixion; and the Last Judgement.
His work between 1302 and 1310 at the new pulpit for the Cathedral of Pisa shows his distinct preference for movement in his characters, moving even further away his father's style. It shows nine scenes from the New Testament, carved in white marble with a chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
effect. It contains even a bold, naturalistic depiction of a naked Hercules. His figure Prudence in the pulpit may have been an inspiration for the Eve in the painting The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Masaccio)
The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden is a fresco by the Italian Early Renaissance artist Masaccio. The fresco is a single scene from the cycle painted around 1425 by Masaccio, Masolino and others on the walls of the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence...
by Masaccio
Masaccio
Masaccio , born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was the first great painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his skill at recreating lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense...
. This pulpit with its dramatic scenes has become his masterwork. After the fire of 1595 it was packed away during the redecoration and was not rediscovered and re-erected until 1926.
The church of San Nicola in Pisa
San Nicola (Pisa)
San Nicola is a church in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy.-Church:San Nicola is mentioned for the first time, together with the annexed convent, in 1097. In 1297-1313 the Augustinians enlarged it, perhaps under design by Giovanni Pisano...
was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. He was also responsible of the façade of San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno is a church in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. It is one of the most outstanding Romanesque churches in Tuscany...
.
His last major work dates probably from 1313 when he made a monument in memory of Margaret of Brabant
Margaret of Brabant
Margaret of Brabant , was the daughter of John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. She was the wife of Count Henry of Luxemburg and after his coronation in 1308, she became Queen of Germany.-Family:...
(who died in 1311) at the request of her husband emperor Henry VII
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII was the King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg...
.
His works shows a mixture of French Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and the classical style, and Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
referred to him as "the first modern sculptor".
One of his pupils was Giovanni di Balduccio
Giovanni di Balduccio
Giovanni di Balduccio was an Italian sculptor of the Medieval period. He was born in Pisa, and likely did not train directly with the famous Pisan sculptor Andrea Pisano. He travelled to Milan to help sculpt the arc of St. Peter Martyr now in the Portinari Chapel, in the Basilica of...
, who also became a famous sculptor, and the architect and sculptor Agostino da Siena
Agostino da Siena
Agostino da Siena or Agostino di Giovanni was an Italian architect and sculptor, active between 1310 and 1347.-Biography:...
. He also had an influence on the painter Pietro Lorenzetti
Pietro Lorenzetti
Pietro Lorenzetti was an Italian painter, active between approximately 1306 and 1345. His younger brother was the painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti....
. Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
included a biography of Pisano in his book Le vite dei più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architetti
The asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
7313 Pisano was named to honour Nicola and Giovanni Pisano.