Pisano

Pisano

1. Andrea , real name Andrea de Pontedera. ?1290--1348, Italian sculptor and architect, noted for his bronze reliefs on the door of the baptistry in Florence

2. Giovanni . ?1250--?1320, Italian sculptor, who successfully integrated classical and Gothic elements in his sculptures, esp in his pulpit in St Andrea, Pistoia

3. his father, Nicola . ?1220--?84, Italian sculptor, who pioneered the classical style and is often regarded as a precursor of the Italian Renaissance: noted esp for his pulpit in the baptistry of Pisa Cathedral

Pisano

 

the name of a number of Italian sculptors and architects of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Nicola Pisano. Born circa 1220 in Apulia; died between 1278 and 1284 in Tuscany. Sculptor.

One of the founders of the proto-Renaissance, Pisano was influenced by the sculpture of Southern Italy and Tuscany and by Late Roman sarcophagi. He viewed sculpture as an art that is the tectonic equivalent of architecture. His works are imbued with powerful force. The figures, which stand firmly on the ground, are distinguished by majestic carriage and by imposing and plastic form. Pisano’s works include pulpits for the Pisa Baptistery (marble, 1260) and the Siena Cathedral (marble, 1265–68).

Giovanni Pisano. Born circa 1245–50 in Pisa; died after 1314. Sculptor and architect. Son, pupil, and assistant of N. Pisano.

Circa 1270–76, Pisano probably visited France, where he became influenced by Gothic art. A fusing of proto-Renaissance traditions with the Gothic system of broken contours is characteristic of his sculpture (marble statues on the facade of the Siena Cathedral, 1284–99; marble pulpit for the church of Sant’ Andrea in Pistoia, completed 1301). Pisano’s sculpture is imbued with passionate emotional tension. The Gothic spirit also prevails in his architecture (lower part of the facade of the Siena Cathedral, 1284–99).

Andrea Pisano. (Andrea da Pontedera). Born circa 1290 in Pontedera, Tuscany; died 1348 or 1349 in Orvieto. Sculptor and architect.

Pisano’s sculptural work included the reliefs for the southern doors of the Florence Baptistery (gilded bronze, 1330–36) and the reliefs and statues for the campanile of the Florence Cathedral (marble, 1337–43, now in the museum of the cathedral). It is marked by a clarity of composition derived from Giotto, which is combined with a refined miniaturization of form, a linear quality, and smoothness of rhythm. The mixing of Late Gothic and proto-Renaissance tendencies is also manifested in his architecture. He directed the construction of Giotto’s campanile (1337–3) and the cathedral in Orvieto (1347–48).

Nino Pisano. Born circa 1315 in Pisa (?); died there (?) in 1368. Sculptor, architect, and jeweler. Son and pupil of Andrea.

Pisano’s sculpture, such as the marble Madonna (1343–47, Museum of the Cathedral, Orvieto), reflected the influence of the French Gothic. It is marked by the S-shaped twist of the figures and the irrational quality of the linear rhythms. Pisano continued the construction of the cathedral in Orvieto after his father’s death.

REFERENCES

Lazarev, V. N. Proiskhozhdenie ital’ianskogo Vozrozhdeniia, vols. 1–2. Moscow, 1956–59.
Fasola, G. N. Nicola Pisano. Rome, 1941.
Toesca, I. Andrea e Nino Pisani. Florence, 1950.
Mellini, G. L. Giovanni Pisano. Milan [1970].