Nicola Pisano (also calledNiccolò Pisano,Nicola de Apulia orNicola Pisanus;c. 1220/1225 –c. 1284[1]) was an Italiansculptor whose work is noted for its classicalRoman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.[2]
His birth date or origins are uncertain. He was born inApulia, as the son of "Petrus de Apulia", as stated in the archives of the Cathedral of Siena.[citation needed] Nicola Pisano was probably trained in the local workshops of theemperorFrederick II, and he attended his coronation.[3] Here he was trained to give to the traditional representations more movement and emotions, intertwining Classical and Christian traditions. His only remaining works from this period are twogriffon heads with a softchiaroscuro effect.
Around 1245 he moved toTuscany to work at the Prato Castle. The lions on the portal of this castle are probably by his hand. "The head of a young girl" (now displayed in the Museo delPalazzo Venezia inRome), cut in the hardstone ofElba, is also ascribed to Nicola Pisano in the same period.
He moved toLucca, working at façade of theCathedral of Saint Martin, resulting in the reliefDeposition from the Cross (on the northtympanum) and the lintel reliefsNativity andAdoration of the Magi.
He moved toPisa between 1245 and 1250, where his sonGiovanni Pisano was born. Around 1255 he received a commission for the pulpit in thePisa Baptistry. He finished this work in 1260 and signed it with "Nicola Pisanus". He was aided by several assistants, among which wereArnolfo di Cambio and Lapo di Ricevuto.
In this pulpit, considered one of his masterworks, he succeeded in making a synthesis of the French Gothic style with the Classical style of ancient Rome, as he had probably learned in South Italy and must have seen on thesarcophagi of theCamposanto in Pisa, such as thePhaedra sarcophagus[4] orMeleager hunting the Calydonian Boar on a sarcophagus brought as booty to Pisa by its navy.Vasari[5] relates that Nicola Pisano constantly studied these Roman remains and the Roman sculptures fromAugustan times seem to have marked a deep impression on him.
The pulpit rests on seven columns. A raised central column is supported by sculptures of animals andtelamons. It is surrounded by six external columns of different heights, three of which rest on realistically carved lions, while the other three rest on octagonal bases. The columns came from remains atOstia. TheCorinthiancapitals support trefoilGothic arches, decorated in thespandrels with pairedProphets and, under the reliefs of theCrucifixion and theLast Judgement, withEvangelists. The arches are separated by sculptures ofSt. John the Baptist,St. Michael and fourVirtues, Charity, Fortitude, Temperance and Prudence. The nude sculpture of Fortitude obviously derives from a RomanHercules.[6]
The hexagonal pulpit itself consists of fivereliefs in whiteCarrara marble from theLife of Christ: the first relief combines three scenes, theAnnunciation, theNativity and theAnnunciation to the Shepherds, while the following show single scenes: theAdoration of the Magi, thePresentation in the Temple, theCrucifixion and theLast Judgment. The backgrounds of these scenes were originally painted andenamelled, while the eyes of the figures were coloured.[7] This contributed further to a realistic impression of these religious topics. All these reliefs, except the last two, reflect Pisano's knowledge of the style on Roman sarcophagi. The figures weartunics in a Roman fashion. The reclining Virgin of theNativity derives from Etruscan tomb sculpture.[8] She also wears apallium over her head in the same manner as a Roman matron. In thePresentation panel the Madonna reminds us of the regal bearing of goddesses in late Roman sculpture, while the expressive face of St. Anne shows the ravages of age.
The sceneThe Last Judgement was probably based on aByzantineivory andThe Crucifixion was sculpted with the same elegance as contemporary French Gothic art.
Another inspiration for this pulpit he may have found also in the triumphal arches he could have seen in Rome when travelling to Ostia. The form of this pulpit diverges completely from contemporary art. The sculptures are represented in the same manner as those of theArch of Constantine in Rome, with the figures standing atop columns. Furthermore, the same arch has an attic storey with sculpted scenes, as does the pulpit.Ref?
Between 1260 and 1264 he finished the work of the architectDiotisalvi on the dome of the baptistery.Ref? He increased its height with a system of two domes: a small truncated cone on top of the hemispherical dome. The two rows oftraceriedgables were later decorated by his sonGiovanni Pisano between 1277 and 1284.
During 1264 he was asked to work on theShrine of Saint Dominic in theBasilica of San Domenico inBologna. He was certainly responsible for the design, but his input was probably minimal. In 1265 he was already at work on the pulpit for the Siena Cathedral. The front side was done in his workshop, partially by Nicola Pisano himself but mostly by his assistantLapo di Ricevuto. It would almost take 500 years to finish this shrine through the work of famous sculptors:Arnolfo di Cambio, fraGuglielmo Agnelli,Niccolò dell'Arca, the youngMichelangelo, Girolamo Coltellini and Giovanni Batista Boudard. The expressive face of saint Dominic, so different from the blander faces in the front panel "Saint Dominic resurrects Napoleone Orsini", is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio.
In September 1265 he was given his next major assignment: a marble pulpit forSiena Cathedral. This pulpit, made ofCarrara marble, was sculpted between the end of 1265 and November 1268 with the extensive participation of his sonGiovanni Pisano and his assistantsArnolfo di Cambio, Lapo di Ricevuto and several other artists.
This is the earliest remaining work in the cathedral. Nicola Pisano was given this commission due to his fame by the Pisa pulpit. This pulpit, resembling the Pisa pulpit but larger, is even more ambitious and is considered his masterpiece. The whole message of the pulpit is concerned with the doctrine ofSalvation and theLast Judgment.
In July 1273 Nicola Pisano was commissioned by the Operai di San Jacopo ofPistoia to make the altar of San Jacopo in thePistoia Cathedral. He worked on it together with his son Giovanni. The chapel of San Jacopo was demolished in 1786. The Holy Water stoup with its three female figures was probably sculpted at the same time. Giovanni Pisano would later make his first pulpit in the same cathedral.
His last major commission was the relief panels on theFontana Maggiore ("Great Fountain") atPerugia (1277–1278). Fra Bevignate and Boninsegna designed the fountain with three superposed basins. The fountain certainly shows the delicate hand of Nicolò Pisano, but most sculpting was executed by his son Giovanni Pisano and his assistants. By its richness in details and by itsiconography, this last work shows a rapprochement to French Gothic art.
Although influenced by the works of Classical Antiquity, Nicola was not simply an imitator. His figures are original creations that came into being through a thorough study and understanding of the antique prototypes and the reinstating of antique representations. His works are the most important precursors of ItalianRenaissance sculpture. Surveys of Italian Renaissance art often begin with the year 1260, the year that Nicola Pisano dated his pulpit in the Pisa baptistery.
On the other hand, as the pulpit of theSiena Cathedral shows, Nicola Pisano was still attached to contemporary Gothic art. This characteristic may arise because this pulpit was finished by his sonGiovanni Pisano who did not appreciate Antiquity in the same manner. Both styles coexisted for several generations.International Gothic and its variations became briefly more popular in the Early 15th century than the Classicism of the High Renaissance.
Nicola Pisano has pushed 13th-century Tuscan sculpture in the direction of art that integrated the features of Roman art, while simultaneously staying attached to the Gothic art from Northern Europe. The true inheritor of Nicola's classical style wasArnolfo di Cambio (c. 1250–1302), whose early death left the field clear for Giovanni Pisano, who, by then, was already pursuing his own mixture of French Gothic and the classical style.
Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Nicola Pisano in hisLives.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pisano, Niccola".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
