Andrea Pisano (1270-1345) is principally famous as a bronze-caster, and his chief work was the making of the gates to the Baptistery of Florence, which have since been replaced by those of Ghiberti. When these gates were finished, in 1339, the Signory went in procession to view them; this proves in what esteem they must have been held, for the Signory never left the Palazzo Vecchio in a body except on the most important occasions. After examining the gates they conferred the honor of citizenship upon the sculptor. These gates told the story of John the Baptist, and the work is full of sentiment, beauty, and simplicity, while the design is pure, the draperies full of elegant grace, and the execution of the whole almost perfect.
Nino Pisano was the son of the latter. The time of his birth is not known; he died before 1361. His works are pleasing, and he especially excelled in drapery. They are not numerous, and are seen in the churches of Pisa.
But by far the most important pupil of Andrea Pisano, and, indeed, the most important Tuscan master of the end of the fourteenth century, was Andrea Arcagnuolo di Cione, commonly called Andrea Orcagna (1329-1376?). This artist was the son of Maestro Cione, a goldsmith of Florence. Orcagna was an architect, goldsmith, sculptor, painter, mosaist, and poet. Painting is the art by which he is best known and of which he executed the greatest number of interesting works. In this place we shall speak of his most important work as a sculptor, which was the tabernacle in the church of Or San Michele, in Florence, made to hold the picture of the Madonna painted by Ugolino da Siena. This tabernacle is of white marble in the Gothic style. It rises from the centre high up toward the roof of the church, and has sculptures in bas-relief, statuettes and busts, all illustrating the life of the Virgin from her birth to her death. It is also enriched with mosaics, intaglios, enamels, gilded glass, pietra dura, and all of these arranged in a whole which is quite unique in art. It may be regarded as a piece of architecture or as a sculptural work, and it is full of symbolism; and whatever view is taken of it, it commands admiration for the artist who conceived and executed so difficult a task.
During the later years of the fourteenth century there were many sculptors in Italy of whom we know very little more than their names. They did a vast amount of work in all parts of the country, much of which is still to be seen. One of these, of whom few personal facts are known, exerted a large influence in Florence, where the fruits of his industry were almost marvellous. He was called Pietro di Giovanni and Pietro Tedesco, or "the German". The time and place of his birth are not known, but the records show that he worked on the Cathedral of Florence from 1386 to 1399. He worked in true German style; wherever scroll-work and simple ornamental designs were required he mingled a variety of leaves and flowers where the acanthus alone had before been used. He also made fantastic little human beings, dwarfs and grotesque beings of different sorts, and exhausted the animal world in his designs. Lions, bears, apes, dogs, lizards, crabs, birds and fish, bees, butterflies, and all manner of insects may be seen nestling among vines and branches, while angels play on pipes and violas. The whole effect of these works is cheerful and natural, and would be as suitable to decorate a music hall or a theatre as they are for a church.
The works of this master are too extreme in the realistic element to be taken as a fair example of the Italian sculpture of this time, but Niccolò of Arrezzo, the Massegne, and the Bon or Buoni family, and many others in different portions of the country contributed to put aside the stiff, formal manner of the past, and to bring in the more sympathetic and natural one of the fifteenth century. In truth, the last decades of the fourteenth century were a transition period, when art was bursting its bonds, and was preparing for the glorious works of the golden days of sculpture in Italy.
CHAPTER V.
ITALIAN SCULPTURE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
There was no one great influence or circumstance which led up to the revival of art and letters which took place in the fifteenth century, and which is known under the general name of the Renaissance. Its causes were many, and may be traced in every department of the life of the Middle Ages—in religion, politics, learning, and the habits of the people. This is far too great a topic for us to enter on here, and we must keep to the one matter which we have in hand.