Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Niccolo and Giovanni of Pisa

by Giorgio Vasari

 

NICCOLA AND GIOVANNI, SCULPTORS AND ARCHITECTS OF PISA.

[niccola born between 1205 and 1207, died 1278.
giovanni born ———, died 1320.]

Having treated of Design and Painting in the life of Cimabue, and of Architecture in that of Arnolfo Lapi, we will now consider the art of Sculpture in the lives of Niccola and Giovanni of Pisa, and also the most important edifices erected by these artists. Their works, whether in sculpture or architecture, are, as not only great and magnificent, but thoroughly expressed, well worthy of commemoration, they having, in a great measure, liberated both these branches of art from the rude and tasteless old Greek manner, and having displayed much greater power of invention in their compositions, as well as more grace of attitude in their figures. Niccola Pisano first worked under certain Greek^[1] sculptors, who were executing the figures, and other ornaments in sculpture, of the Duomo of Pisa and the chapel of San Giovanni : among the many spoils of marbles brought by the armaments of Pisa to their city, were several antique sarcophagi, now in the Campo Santo of that town : one of these, on which the Chase of Meleager and the Calydonian boar was cut with great truth and beauty, surpassed all the others ; the nude, as well as draped figures, being perfect in design, and executed with great skill. This sarcophagus having been placed, for its beauty, by the Pisans, in that façade of the cathedral which is opposite to San Rocco, and beside the principal door of that front, was used as a tomb for the mother of the Countess Matilda, if we may credit the following words, inscribed on the marble :—

“a.d. mcxvi. Kal. Aug. obiit D. Matilda felicis memorise comitissa, quas pro anima genitricis suae D. Beatricis comitissae venerabilis in hac tumba honorabili quiescentis in multis partibus mirifice hanc dotavit ecclesiam, quarum animae requiescant in pace.” Then,“ a.d. mccciii sub dignissimo operario Burgundio Tadi occasione graduum fiendorum per ipsum circa ecclesiam supradicta tumba superius notata translata fuit, nunc de sedibus primis in ecclesiam, nunc de ecclesia in hanc locum, ut cernitis, eccellentem.”

Niccola was attracted by the excellence of this work, in which he greatly delighted, and which he studied diligently, with the many other valuable sculptures of the relics around him, imitating the admirable manner of these works with so much success, that no long time had elapsed before he was esteemed the best sculptor of his time. In those days, no sculptor of great eminence, beside Arnolfo,^[2] existed in Tuscany, with the exception of Fuccio, a Florentine architect and sculptor, who built the church of Santa Maria sopra Arno, in Florence, in the year 1229, placing his name over one of the doors of the building. This artist also executed the tomb of the Queen of Cyprus, in the church of San Francesco at Assisi, a monument in marble, adorned with many figures, and particularly with the portrait of the queen herself, seated on a lion, to typify the force of mind of this princess ; who left large sums of money, at her death, for the completion of the fabric. But Niccola, having proved himself a much better master than Fuccio, was invited to Bologna in the year 1225, where he was entrusted with the execution of a tomb, in marble, to San Domenico, of Calahorra, founder of the order of Preaching Friars, who had then but recently died. Concerting his measures, therefore, with those who had the direction of the matter, Niccola constructed the tomb, with the many figures still to be seen on it, finishing the whole in the year 1231, to the great extension of his fame, the work being then considered one of extraordinary merit, and superior to any thing of the kind that had been seen. He also prepared plans for the rebuilding of the church^[3] and of the greater part of the convent. When Niccola returned to Tuscany, he found that Fuccio, having left Florence, had gone to Rome, at the time when the Emperor Frederick was crowned by Pope Honorius,^[4] and from Rome to Naples with that monarch. In Naples, Fuccio completed the Castel Capuano, now called the Vicaria, wherein all the law-courts of the kingdom are held. He also finished the Castel dell’ Uovo ; founded the towers, and built the gate, which commands the Volturno, for the city of Capua ; laid out a chase, for the sport of fowling, near Gravina ; and a second, for hunting in winter, at Melfi ; besides many other labours, which are omitted for the sake of brevity. Niccola, meanwhile, remained in Florence, occupied not only in sculpture, but with architecture also ; in the buildings which were then in course of construction, and not without merit of design, in all parts of Italy, but particularly in Tuscany. He gave no small aid, at this time, towards the construction of the abbey of Settimo, which had not received its completion, from the executors of Count Ugo of Brandenburg, like the other six founded by the same noble, as mentioned above (page 27). For although we find engraved on the campanile of this abbey the words “Guglielm me fecit”, yet we know certainly, from its style, that it was constructed under the direction of Niccola, who built the old palace of the Anziani, in Pisa, at the same time. This latter edifice has been demolished, in our own days, by Duke Cosmo, for the purpose of erecting on its site, while retaining a portion of the old building, the magnificent palace and convent of the new order of the Knights of St. Stephen, built after the plans and models of the Aretine painter and architect, Giorgio Vasari, who has endeavoured to do his best with those old walls, accommodating to them, as much as possible, the new. Many other palaces and churches were constructed in Pisa by Niccola, who was the first, the good method of building having been lost, to found buildings at Pisa on arches raised upon piers, which, in their turn, were supported by piles ; for, where this was not practised, the whole edifice was frequently ruined by the sinking of the foundations, whereas the piles rendered all entirely secure, as experience fully demonstrates. The church of San Michele in Borgo, belonging to the monks of Camaldoli, was also built by Niccola ; but his most ingenious, most beautiful, and most extraordinary architectural work, was the campanile of San Niccola, of Pisa, near the convent of the Augustine Friars. Externally this building has eight sides, but its form within is circular, with a spiral staircase ascending to the summit ; within the stairs a free space is left, in the manner of a well, while on every fourth stair are placed columns, supporting arches, which follow the spiral line. The roof of the staircase being supported on these arches, the ascent is of such sort that the spectator at the foot sees all who go up ; those who are ascending see those remaining below ; while he who stands in the mid-way can see both those above and those below. This remarkable invention was afterwards applied, with many improvements of proportion and richer ornament, by Bramante, in Rome, to the Belvedere of Pope Julius II, and by Antonio di San Gallo, in Orvieto, for Pope Clement VII, as will be related in the proper place. But to return to Niccola : he was no less excellent in sculpture than in architecture ; and on the façade of the church of San Martino, in Lucca, he executed a Deposition of Christ from the Cross, half-relief in marble, which is full of admirable figures, finished with extreme care, the marble being entirely perforated, and the whole completed in a manner which gave hope, to those who were previously pursuing this art with weary steps, that a master was now about to arise, from whose aid and example they might look for greater facilities to their future progress than had yet been enjoyed. This work is under the portico, and above the side-door, on the left hand of him who enters the church. In the year 1240, the plans for the church of San Jacopo di Pistoja were prepared by Niccola, who employed certain Tuscan artists to decorate the apse in mosaic. This apse, admired in those days as a work of great expense and difficulty, awakens more compassion or ridicule than admiration in our own times, and the rather as the defects then prevailing were manifest not in Tuscany only, but through all Italy, where many buildings and other works, executed without design or method, because of the little knowledge to which men had then attained in the art of design, serve only to prove the poverty of their invention, and to show us what unmeasured riches were badly expended by the people of those times, for lack of masters capable of worthily executing the works confided to them.

In this state of things, Niccola perpetually increased his fame by the works he performed, both in sculpture and architecture, acquiring a better name than any of the sculptors or architects then working in Romagna ; his right to which may be seen in Sant’ Ippolito and San Giovanni of Faenza, in the cathedral of Ravenna, in San Francesco, in the houses of the Traversari, and in the church of Porto, as well as in Rimini, where the town-hall, the palaces of the Malatesta family, and other edifices, are all in a much ruder manner than the old buildings erected at the same period in Tuscany.

And what is here said of Romagna, may be affirmed with equal truth respecting a part of Lombardy. One needs only to examine the cathedral of Ferrara, and such other buildings as were erected by the Marquis Azzo, to be convinced of this truth, and to perceive how inferior these attempts are to the Santo^[5] of Padua, built after the designs of Niccola,—or to the church of the Frari in Venice, both magnificent and deservedly celebrated works. Many artists of Niccola’s day, incited by a laudable ambition, devoted themselves to the study of sculpture with more zeal than they had previously done, more particularly in Milan, where many Lombards and Germans had assembled for the construction of the cathedral, but who were afterwards dispersed by the hostilities that arose between the Milanese and the Emperor Frederick, when these artists were distributed over all Italy, where much emulation arising among them, they produced some works of considerable merit, as well in sculpture as architecture. The same thing occurred in Florence, after the works of Arnolfo and Niccola had appeared ; the latter, while the little church of the Misericordia on the Piazza of San Giovanni was in progress of erection after his plans, was further occupied with a group in marble, representing the Virgin, between St. Dominick, and another saint, which may still be seen on the façade of the church.^[6]

It was in the time of Niccola that the Florentines began to demolish the numerous towers, built of old, in a most barbarous style, in all parts of the city, that the people might suffer less in the contests perpetually arising between the Guelfs and Ghibelines, or perhaps for the greater security of the state itself. But the tower called Guardamorto,^[7] appeared to them to present extreme difficulty in its demolition, the walls being of such thickness that they would not yield to the pickaxe, the height also being very great. This tower stood on the Piazza San Giovanni, and Niccola cut through one of its sides at the foot of the building, and supported it meanwhile by wooden props, of a braccio and a half high ; to these supports he then set fire, and when they were consumed, the tower fell of itself into almost total ruin. This was considered so ingenious, and so useful a method, that it has since become in a manner customary ; for when it is found needful to destroy an edifice, the work is readily done by these means. Niccola was present when the first foundation of the cathedral of Siena was laid, and drew the plan of the church of San Giovanni in the same city^[8]. Having then returned to Florence, in the same year that the Guelfs recovered the city, he there designed the church of the Holy Trinity, with the convent of the Nuns of Faenza, since destroyed to make way for the citadel. He ras then recalled to Naples, but unwilling to abandon his labours in Tuscany, he sent thither his disciple, Maglione, in his stead. Maglione was a sculptor as well as architect ; he built the church of San Lorenzo of Naples, in the time of Conradin,—finished a part of the Episcopal Palace,— and erected several sepulchral monuments,—works, in all of which he closely imitated the manner of his master Niccola.

Niccola was meanwhile invited by the people of Volterra, in the year 1254, when that city was subjugated by the Florentines, to enlarge their cathedral, which was very small ; the form of this building was extremely irregular, but Niccola rectified that fault, and greatly increased the magnificence of the cathedral. He then returned to Pisa, and constructed the marble pulpit of San Giovanni, to which he gave the utmost diligence and attention, desiring to leave to his country a memorial of himself in this work, on which, among other subjects he represented the Universal Judgment, composed of numerous figures, which, if not perfectly well designed, are at least executed with infinite care and patience, as may still be seen. Then, as Niccola thought, with justice, that he had completed a meritorious work, he inscribed beneath it the following verses :—

“ Anno milleno bis centum bisque triceno
  Hoc opus insigne sculpsit Nicola Pisanus.”
  [Laudetur digne tam bene docta manus.]^[9]

The people of Siena, moved by the fame of this work, which was greatly admired, not by the Pisans only, but by all who beheld it, offered Niccola the construction of that pulpit in their cathedral from which the holy Gospel is wont to be sung. On this, Niccola represented various passages from the life of Christ, redounding greatly to his honour, especially the figures, which, with great difficulty, he has well-nigh detached from the marble. This was executed while Guglielmo Mariscotti was Praetor.^[10] The designs for the church and convent of San Domenico, in Arezzo, were also made by Niccola for the Signori of Pietramala, by whom both were erected. At the entreaty of the Bishop Ubertini, he restored the capitular church of Cortona, and founded the church of Santa Margherita for the friars of St. Francis, on the most elevated point of that city.

By all these labours, the fame of Niccola was continually extended, and in the year 1267, he was invited by Pope Clement IV to Viterbo, where, with many others, he restored the church and convent of the Preaching Friars. From Viterbo he proceeded to Naples to king Charles I, who, having routed and slain Conradin, on the plain of Tagliacozzo, had determined to erect a very rich church and abbey on the spot, wherein should be buried the great number of men killed in that battle, and where he had commanded that masses for their souls should be performed night and day, by many monks. And in respect of this building, King Charles was so well satisfied with the work of Niccola, that he paid the artist great honours, and rewarded him largely. Returning from Naples into Tuscany, Niccola made some stay at Orvieto, where he assisted in the building of the church of Santa Maria. He there worked in company with certain Germans, and executed several figures in high relief, with their assistance, for the façade of that church. There were two historical scenes in particular, representing the Universal Judgment, Paradise, and Hell ; and as he did his utmost to give beauty to the souls of the blessed who were restored to their bodies in Paradise, so, in the figures of the devils, employed in tormenting the souls of the condemned in Hell, he produced the strangest forms that can be conceived. In this work be surpassed, not only the Germans with whom he was associated, but even himself, to his great glory ; and as there were large numbers of figures, and he had given proof of extraordinary patience in this production, it has been praised even to our own times by those whose judgment in sculpture does not extend beyond these circumstances.^[11]

Among other children, Niccola had a son called Giovanni, who, being constantly with his father, attained early proficiency under his care, both in sculpture and architecture, so that in a few years he not only became equal to his instructor, but in some respects surpassed him ; wherefore, becoming old, Niccola retired to Pisa, leaving the management of all their labours to his son. Pope Urban IV expired about this time in Perugia, and Giovanni was summoned to that city, to construct the sepulchral monument of that pontiff. This work, executed in marble, was demolished, together with the tomb of Pope Martin IV, when the people of Perugia enlarged their cathedral, so that there remain now but a few relics, scattered over different parts of the church. About the same time, the Perugians, profiting by the skill and industry of a Friar of the Silvestrini, had conducted an abundant water-course into their city, by means of leaden pipes, from the hill of Pacciano, two miles distant ; they now therefore confided the erection of the fountain to Giovanni Pisano,^[12] with all its ornaments, whether in marble or bronze. Giovanni therefore commenced the work, and constructed a range of three basins, placed one above the other : the first is of marble, raised on twelve steps, each having twelve sides ; the second, also of marble, reposes on columns, rising from the centre of the first ; and the third, which is of bronze, is supported on three figures, and has griffins, also of bronze, in the midst of it, which pour the water forth on all sides. Then, as Giovanni considered himself to have worked successfully in this fountain, he inscribed his name upon it. About the year 1560, as the arches and conduits of the aqueduct, which had cost seventy thousand gold ducats, had become much injured,—nay, were in a great part ruined,—Vincenzio Danti, a sculptor and architect of Perugia, did himself no small credit by most ingeniously reconducting the water to the said fountain in its original course, yet without rebuilding the arches, which would have been an excessively costly work.^[13]

This undertaking being completed, Giovanni resolved to leave Perugia and return to Pisa, being desirous of seeing Ins father, now become old, and also indisposed ; but, passing through Florence, he was compelled to delay some time there for the purpose of assisting, with other architects, at the mills on the river Arno, which were then in course of construction, at San Gregorio, near the Piazza de’ Mozzi. At length, having received intelligence of his father’s death, he departed for Pisa, where, in consideration of his talents, he was received with great honour by all the city, every one rejoicing that, although Niccola had passed away, yet Giovanni remained to them, the heir to his virtues, as well as to his abilities. Nor were the Pisans disappointed in their expectations when the occasion for putting them to the proof presented itself ; for, resolving to make certain changes in the small, but richly-adorned church of Santa Maria della Spina, the charge of these was entrusted to Giovanni, who, with the aid of his disciples, brought the decorations of that oratory to the perfection which we still see. This work, so far as we can judge of it, must have been considered wonderful in those times, and the rather as, in one of the figures, Giovanni had produced the portrait of his father, in the best manner that he could accomplish.

The people of Pisa, seeing the success of Giovanni in this work, and having long thought — nay, even spoken—of making a general burying-ground for the noble, as well as the plebeian classes of their city, that too many might not be laid in the cathedral, or from some other cause, resolved to confide to Giovanni the construction of the Campo Santo, which is situate on the piazza of the Duomo, towards the walls ; this he completed from good plans and with great judgment, giving it that extent, and enriching it with those ornaments, which we now see ; and as the cost of this work was not restricted, he caused the roof to be covered with lead. The following inscription, graven on marble, was placed on the principal door :—

a. d. mcclxxvm, tempore Domini Friderigi archiepiscopi Pisani, et Domini Tarlati potestatis, operario Orlando Sardella, Johanne Magistro aedificante.

This undertaking being completed, Giovanni went, in the same year 1283,^[14] to Naples, where he built the Castel Nuovo for Charles I. To give space for this erection, and for the necessary defences, he was compelled to demolish several houses, and particularly a convent of the friars of St. Francis, which was afterwards reconstructed on a larger scale, and with increased magnificence, near the castle, receiving the name of Santa Maria “della Nuova”. When these buildings had been commenced, and had made a certain degree of progress, Giovanni left Naples to return into Tuscany ; but, having reached Siena, he was not suffered to go farther, being called on to give a plan for the façade of the cathedral of that city, which was then constructed, after that model, with extreme splendour and magnificence.^[15] In the year 1286, the people of Arezzo were building their cathedral, from the designs of Margaritone, an architect of that city, when Giovanni was summoned thither from Siena, by Guglielmino, Bishop of Arezzo, for whom he executed the table of the high altar, in marble : this he covered with figures, foliage, and other ornaments, in relief. The whole work was divided into compartments by fine mosaics, and enamels on plates of silver, fixed into the marble with great nicety and care. In the centre is a figure of the Virgin, with the infant in her arms ; on the one side stands St. Gregory the pontiff (whose face is the likeness of Pope Honorius, IV) ; and on the other is the figure of St. Donatus, bishop and protector of the city, whose remains, with those of Sant’ Antilla and other saints, repose beneath that altar. And since the altar itself stands apart from the walls, Giovanni adorned the sides wdth small figures in bassorilievo, representing passages from the life of St. Donatus ; and the crown of the whole work is a series of tabernacles filled with marble figures in high relief, all of exquisite workmanship. On the breast of the above-named Madonna, is an ornament of gold in form of a casket, which is said to have contained jewels of great value ; but during the wars, these were carried off, as were also various small figures placed around, and on the summit of the whole ; by soldiers, as is believed, who do not often show respect even to the most holy sacrament itself. On this altar,^[16]according to records still remaining, the people of Arezzo spent thirty thousand florins of gold ; nor does this seem improbable, since the work was the most rare and precious that the art of those days could produce, insomuch that Frederick Barbarossa,^[17] returning from Rome, where he had been crowned, and passing through Arezzo many years after its completion, commended, nay, admired it infinitely : and certainly with good reason ; for, to speak of nothing more, the various portions of this work, formed of innumerable morsels, are so nicely conjoined, and fixed together with so much exactitude, that any one who is not well practised in matters of art may readily suppose the whole to be of one piece. In the same church, Giovanni constructed the chapel of the Ubertini, a most illustrious family, still possessing several lordships, but formerly the masters of many more. This he likewise enriched with numerous decorations in marble ; but these have been covered over by various ornaments in stone, erected on that site, by Giorgio Vasari, in the year 1535, for the support of an organ,^[18] of extraordinary beautyand excellence, which has been placed in that chapel.

Giovanni Pisano also gave the designs for the church of Santa Maria de’ Servi, which has been destroyed, with many palaces belonging to the noblest families of the city, for the causes before mentioned. And here I will not omit to note that Giovanni employed the services of certain Germans for the altar above described, who assisted him, more in the hope of improvement than for gain ; these artists became so expert under his instructions, that, having departed to Rome on the completion of the work, they were employed in many of the sculptures of St. Peter’s by Boniface VIII, as well as in architecture, when that pontiff was building Civita Castellana. They were, besides, despatched by the same pope to Santa Maria d’Orvieto, where they executed many figures, in marble, for the façade of that church, which were tolerably well done for those times. But among those who assisted Giovanni Pisano in the works of the cathedral of Arezzo, Agostino and Agnolo, sculptors and architects of Siena, were the most distinguished, and far surpassed all others, as will be related at the proper time. We now return to Giovanni, who repaired to Florence on leaving Orvieto, partly to view the building then constructing by Arnolfo (Santa Maria del Fiore), but also to visit Giotto, of whom he had heard great things related while on his travels. But he had scarcely arrived in Florence, before he was appointed, by the Intendants of the fabric, to execute the Madonna, which stands between two angels, over that door of the church which leads into the canonical palace ; a work which was then greatly commended.^[19] He afterwards erected the small baptismal font of San Giovanni, adorning it with passages from the life of that saint, in mezzo-rilievo.^[20] Then, proceeding to Bologna, he directed the construction of the principal chapel in the church of San Domenico, where he was also commissioned, by Teodorico Borgognoni, of Lucca, the Bishop, a friar of the Dominican order, to execute an altar in marble ; and in the year 1298 he completed the marble table in which are seen the Virgin with eight other figures, all of very tolerable workmanship.^[21]

In the year 1300,^[22] Niccola da Prato, cardinal legate, being despatched by the pope to Florence, in the hope of appeasing the dissensions of the Florentines, employed Giovanni to build a convent for nuns in Prato, which he caused to be called the Convent of San Niccola, after his own name ; in the same district he restored the convent of San Domenico, with another of the same name in Pistoja, and on both these buildings the arms of the aforesaid cardinal may still be found. Then the people of Pistoja, holding the name of Niccola, the father of Giovanni, in high respect, for the many excellent works that he had produced in their city, caused Giovanni to construct a marble pulpit for their church of Sant’ Andrea, similar to that which Niccola had executed for the cathedral of Siena, and in which he was to compete with one erected shortly before by a German, in the church of St. John the Evangelist, which had been highly praised.^[23] This work Giovanni completed in four years, representing passages from the life of Jesus Christ, in five compartments, on five of its sides, with a Universal Judgment on the sixth, giving his utmost care to the execution, in the hope of equalling, or perhaps of surpassing, that of Orvieto, then so much lauded. And as it appeared to him that he had produced a great and beautiful work, which was true, the age considered, he inscribed the following verses around the pulpit, above the columns supporting it, on the architrave :—

“ Hoc opus sculpsit Joannes, qui res non egit inanes
  Nicolai natus · · · · meliora beatus.
  Quem genuit Pisa, doctum super omnia visa.”

About the same time, and in the same city, Giovanni constructed the holy water font for the church of St. John the Baptist. This is in marble, supported by three figures— Temperance, Prudence, and Justice—and the work being then considered very beautiful, was placed in the centre of the church as something remarkable.^[24] Moreover, before he departed from Pistoja, Giovanni gave the plans for the campanile of St. Jacopo, the principal church of that city, although the church itself had not then been commenced. This tower, which stands on the Piazza di San Jacopo, and beside the church, bears the date 1301.

Pope Benedict IX^[25] dying soon after this in Perugia, Giovanni Pisano was invited to that city, where he constructed a marble tomb for the lately departed pontiff, in the old church of San Domenico of the Preaching Friars. The figure of Pope Benedict, taken from nature, and in his pontifical habits, is extended on the sarcophagus, between two angels, which support a canopy ; the Virgin stands above, with a saint on each side of her ; many other ornaments also, in marble, are cut around the monument. In the new church of the Preaching Friars, Giovanni likewise erected a tomb, that of Messer Niccolo Guidalotti, bishop of Recanati, a native of Perugia, who was founder of the new college, called the Sapienza, in that city. In this same new church, which had been founded by others, it may be further remarked, that Giovanni directed the works of the central nave, and this part of the building was much more securely built than the remainder of the church, which has sunk on one side from the defects of its foundations, and now, from having been so insecurely based, is in danger of ruin. And, of a truth, whoever undertakes a building, or other work of importance, should seek advice from, the best informed, and not from those who know but little, lest, when all is done, he should have to repent, with shame and loss, of having been ill directed where most he needed counsel.

Having completed his labours in Perugia, Giovanni resolved to proceed to Rome, that he might profit, as his father had done, by the study of the few antiquities then to be seen there ; but being prevented by good reasons, he refrained from carrying this resolution into effect, and the rather as he heard that the Papal Court had just gone to Avignon. He returned, therefore, to Pisa, where Nello di Giovanni Falconi, master of the Duomo, commissioned him to build the principal pulpit of the cathedral,—that fixed to the choir, namely, on the right hand of the spectator as he approaches the high altar. Having commenced this work, and the many figures, in full relief, three braccia high, which were to serve for its decoration, he brought it, by slow degrees, to the form it now bears. This pulpit is based partly upon the above-mentioned figures, partly on columns supported by lions ; on the sides are represented certain passages from the life of Jesus. It is truly deplorable that so much care, industry, and cost, were not accompanied by some merit of design ; that it should fall so far short of perfection, as to have neither invention, nor grace, nor any approach to good style, such as would be assured, in our times, to works of much less expense and labour. It awakened no little admiration, nevertheless, in the men of those times, accustomed to see only the rudest attempts. This work was finished in the year 1320,^[26] as appears from certain verses engraved around the said pulpit, and which proceed thus :—

“ Laudo Deum verum, per quem sunt optima rerum
  Qui dedit has puras homini formare figuras;
  Hoc opus his annis Domini sculpsere Johannis

  Arte manus sola quondam natique Nicole
  Cursis undenis tercentwn milleque plenis.”

There are, besides, thirteen other lines which I do not give here, that the reader may be the less wearied, and likewise because these suffice to show, not only that this pulpit is from the hand of Giovanni, but also that the men of those times were uniform in their shortcomings. A Virgin in marble, placed over the principal door of the Duomo, between the figures of St. John the Baptist and another saint, is also by Giovanni Pisano, and the figure kneeling at the feet of the Virgin is said to represent Pietro Gambacorti, master of the works. However this may be, on the pedestal of the Virgin are engraved the following words :—

“ Sub Petri cura haec pia fuit sculpta figura
  Nicoli nato sculptore Johanne vocato.”

In like manner, over the side door, opposite to the campanile, stands a Virgin in marble, from the hand of Giovanni ; on one side of her there is a woman kneeling, with two children. This group represents Pisa. On the other side of the Madonna is the Emperor Henry.^[27] On the pedestal of the Virgin are the words—“ Ave gratia plena, Dominus tecum”; and near them the following verses :—

“ Nobilis arte manus sculpsit Johannes Pisanus.
  Sculpsit sub Burgundio Tadi Benigno.”

Around the pedestal of the group representing Pisa,

“ Virginis ancilla sum Pisa quieta sub ilia.”

And on that of the Emperor,

“ Imperat. Henricus qui Christo fertur amicus.”

In the old parochial church of Prato, under the altar of the principal chapel, the girdle of the Virgin had been preserved during a long series of years. This relic had been brought to his native place by Michele da Prato, when he returned from the Holy Land in the year 1141, and by him it was consigned to the care of Uberto, dean of the Chapter, who deposited it in the above-named sanctuary, where it has ever been held in high veneration. But in the year 1312, a native of Prato,—a man of very bad character, a sort of Ser Ciappelletto,^[28] so to speak,— laid a plan for the abstraction of the holy girdle. This being discovered, the criminal suffered death for his sacrilege, at the hands of justice. But the people of Prato, alarmed for the safety of the girdle, resolved to build a strong and suitable receptacle for its better security. They accordingly summoned Giovanni, who was then getting old, and, by his counsels, they built a chapel in the principal church, wherein they deposited the girdle. They also greatly enlarged the church, from the designs of the same artist, covering the outside with black and white marble, as they did also with the campanile, which may be still seen ^[29] At length, having now become very old, Giovanni Pisano expired in the year 1320, after having produced many works, both in sculpture and architecture, over and above those here enumerated. And, of a truth, we owe much gratitude both to himself and his father Niccola, seeing that, in times wholly destitute of any good ideas in design, and from the midst of profound darkness, they cast no small light on all pertaining to art; for that age, therefore, they were truly excellent. Giovanni was honourably interred in the Campo Santo, and in the same tomb with his father. He left many scholars who gained considerable repute after his death ; but Lino, a sculptor and architect of Siena, was more particularly distinguished among them. He built the chapel wherein are deposited the remains of San Ranieri, in the Duomo of Pisa, and which is richly decorated in marble. Lino also erected the baptismal font of the same cathedral, inscribing his name among its ornaments.

Nor is it any cause of wonder that Niccola and Giovanni should have executed so large a number of works ;^[30] for, beside that both lived to a good old age, they were, at that time, the first masters in Europe, and there were few undertaking of importance in which they did not take part, as may be proved from numerous inscriptions in addition to those above cited. While speaking of these two sculptors and architects, I have alluded, on various occasions, to the works of art preserved in Pisa. I will, therefore, not omit to mention, that on the steps in front of the new hospital there may be seen a vase, placed on a column of porphyry, supported by a lion, and on the pedestal of the whole are engraved the following words :—

“This is the talent which the Emperor Caesar gave to the people of Pisa, to the intent that by this they should regulate the tribute which they paid him. The said talent was placed on this column and lion in the time of Giovanni Rosso, master of the works of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Pisa, on the second day of March a.d. mcccxiii.”

1. Della Valle and other Italian writers maintain that Niccola acquired his art from Pisan, and not Greek masters.
2. From this mode of expression, it might seem that Arnolfo had rather preceded Niccola, than been his disciple, as was the fact. — Ed. Flor. 1846.
3. That of San Domenico, namely.
4. This took place in 1221 ; which shews the confusion of dates and events into which Vasari has fallen in this life of Niccola.—Ed. Flor.
5. The church of St. Anthony of Padua, so called, par eminence, St. Anthony being the protector of that city.
6. The old Misericordia is here meant, now a part of the Bigallo. The Madonna we still see there is in a very good manner, but not from the hand of Niccola : it is attributed, and probably with more truth, to Andrea Pisano. — Maselli.
7. So called, because it was customary to watch or guard the dead, who were to be buried in the church of San Giovanni, for a certain number of hours, in a room of this tower.— Ed. Flor. 1846.
8. A manifest error, since the cathedral of Siena was founded at least a century before Niccola was born.— Schorn.
9. This line, omitted by Vasari, is required to make the inscription complete.
10. There are documents to show that this pulpit was begun by Niccola, in 1266, he was assisted by Arnolfo and Lapo, his disciples, and probably by Giovanni, his son. See Rumohr, Ital. Forsch.
11. Cicognara has shown that these reliefs are subsequent to Niccola. See Storia della Scultura.
12. See the learned “Letters” of Annibale Mariotti. —Perugia, 1788.
13. The sculptured ornaments of this fountain have been restored within the last few years.—Schorn.
14. Five years afterwards, according to the inscription.
15. For a dissertation respecting the date, &c., of this cathedral, see Rumohr, Ital. Forsch.
16. This altar still remains in the cathedral, but is much delapidated.
17. It is obvious that Vasari here means Henry VII, and not Fred. Barbarossa.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
18. On the altar under this organ the arms of the Ubertini family may still be seen. — Ed. Bottari, 1759.
19. This beautiful and well-preserved work may still be seen in the place thus described by Vasari. —Ed. Flor. 1846.
20. The present baptismal font cannot be the work either of Giovanni, or of Andrea Pisano, as Del Migliore supposes, the inscription around it declaring it to have been executed in 1370, when Gio. had been dead fifty years, and And. twenty-five.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
21. This work has been lost.—Ibid.
22. Schorn says 1303.
23. This pulpit of St. Andrew, at Pistoja, is precisely in the same manner with those constructed by Niccola Pisano for Pisa and Siena, in white marble that is, and with six sides, all highly enriched.
24. Now in a very grievous condition, yet, not so completely ruined, says Cicognara, as some waiters have said. It is no longer in the centre of the church, but near the side door.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
25. Vasari here means Benedict XI.
26. * 1311, according to the inscription.
27. Da Morrona saw the relics of these sculptures lying mingled with earth and stones, but they were afterwards gathered together and placed in the Campo Santo of Pisa.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
28. For Ser Ciappelletto, of Prato, and his mischievous pranks, see the first story in the Decameron of Boccaccio.— Ed. Bottari.
29. Giovanni also worked in ivory, as we gather from a document dated June 8, 1299, by which he binds himself to execute certain figures in that material. A very beautiful group of the Virgin and Child, now preserved in the sanctuary of the cathedral of Pisa, is also believed to be by his hand.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
30. The Canon Celano, in his Notizie di Napoli, p. 77. affirms that the cathedral of Naples was built by Charles I, after the designs of Niccola Pisano.— Leclanché.