Nicola Pisano (1302-11 A.D.)
Marble; height: 461 cm
Cathedral, Pisa
This marble pulpit carved by Nicola Pisano is a great example of the intricacy and detail which artists of the late 13th century attributed to their work. The pulpit is formed by individually carved slabs depicting religious scenes joined by solidly formed human or angelic figures alluding to the sturdy pillars which support the structure directly beneath this. The pillars themselves are elaborately decorated at the capital with solid bases, borrowing from both the Ionic and Corinthian style of Greco-Roman architecture.
A single near-life-size figure beneath the center of the pulpit serves as a focal point and relieves some of the visual "top-heaviness" of the structure. Amidst the columns are additional carvings of figures in the forms of lions with special detail paid to their natural appearance to which Renaissance artists would note and emulate with their naturalist approach in the early 14th century.
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