Fra. Guglielmo Agnelli was an Italian

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...

 and architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, born in Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

.

History

Agnelli was a pupil of 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...

, who had brought the art of sculpture to great perfection, modeled on Greek

Art in Ancient Greece

The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries all over the world, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models...

 and Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 ideas, matured by the study of actual truth, and preserving only traditions of the earlier medieval school which were deemed necessary for Christian art at a time when art was truly the handmaid of religion.

Agnelli joined the Dominican Order

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 at Pisa in 1257, as a lay brother. He was soon engaged in work on the convent of the brethren at Pisa and built the campanile

Campanile

Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...

 of the Abbey of Settimo, near Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

. His best work is the series of marble reliefs executed, in conjunction with Pisano, for the famous tomb of St. Dominic in the church of that Saint at Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

. The figures on the funeral urn, in Mezzo-rilievo, are about two feet high. Fra Guglielmo's work on the posterior face of the tomb deals with six Dominican legends, vis: the Blessed Reginald smitten by a distemper; the Virgin Mary healing a sick man and pointing to the habit of the Friars Preachers, indicating that he should assume it; the same man freed from a terrible temptation by holding St. Dominic's hands; Honorius III having his vision of St. Dominic supporting the falling Lateran Basilica; Honorius examining the Dominican rule, and his solemn approbation of it. This work afforded little scope to Fra Guglielmo's imaginative powers, but its masterly execution places him among the greatest artists of his time, second only to his master, Nicola Pisano. On the other hand, those figures show some faultiness characteristic of the period in the stiffness and lack of finish in the extremities. They are also crowded into too narrow limits.

Fra Guglielmo and Nicola also embellished the upper cornice of the urn with acanthus

Acanthus (genus)

Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches...

 leaves and birds. We know no more of Fra Guglielmo until 1293 when we find him occupied on the famous Orvieto Cathedral. Though his share in the sculptures of this edifice is not fully established, it is believed that the bas-reliefs are in great part his work. The length of time he spent at Orvieto

Orvieto

Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...

 is also unknown. In 1304, he was engaged on works of sculpture and architecture at his native Pisa, and was called upon to adorn the facade of the Church of San Michele di Borgo with historical bas-reliefs. These labours, together with his work on other parts of that church, and the construction of a pulpit, engaged him for the remaining nine years of his life. Fra Guglielmo was not only the foremost among the Dominican sculptors, but according to Marachese, "by reason of his many and important works, deserves to be ranked among the grandest Italian sculptors, far excelling all contemporaries. Arnolfo, Giovanni Pisano, and his master excepted."