Giovanni Pisano Biography
Giovanni Pisano (Pisa, around 1248 – Siena, around 1315) was an Italian sculptor and architect. He managed to develop his father Nicola's ideas, confirming the pre-eminent role of sculpture among the figurative arts of the 13th century, at least until the rise of Giotto. He gave his statues slender and elegantly arched shapes, and gave his reliefs a strong sense of movement and chiaroscuro, demonstrating a strong expressiveness, without however ever forgetting a solid, typically Italian volumetry. He was the protagonist of some of the most important construction sites of his era, especially in Pisa and Siena, becoming one of the most influential artists of the 14th century. During the years in which he worked alongside his father he collaborated on the sculptural decoration of the Baptistery of Pisa and the Pulpit of Siena (1265-1269), although the attribution of the various sculptures is controversial. He certainly had a more active role in the Fontana Maggiore (1275-1278) in Perugia, where he signed next to his father's name the figures in the upper register, despite the total uncertainty of the attributions, are generally referred to Giovanni Pisano due to their now explicitly gothic. Subsequently he took charge of projects left unfinished by his father: the external decoration of the Baptistery of Pisa (statues of the second register and completion of the third and last); and the Cathedral of Siena, where he was master builder from 1285 to 1296: here he extended the naves by a span, at the end of which he placed the monumental façade; he led the work on the lower part of the facade for which he created a large number of statues of Prophets and Wise Men of antiquity. In Siena he obtained great recognition and benefits. In the following years he worked on the pulpit of the church of Sant'Andrea in Pistoia (1297-1301).
