In the church of Sant’Andrea in Pistoia lies a true masterpiece of medieval sculpture: the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, a work that lets you touch with your own eyes the shift of art from the medieval language to the Renaissance one.
Do you know Giotto’s paintings?
Well: exactly as Giotto revolutionised painting by introducing space and the realistic rendering of emotions, so Giovanni Pisano revolutionised sculpture. It’s no surprise that the Pistoia pulpit, completed in 1301, holds symbolic meanings and allegories that make it unique.
If you’re about to travel through Tuscany, between Lucca and Florence, stop in Pistoia to see this work in the flesh.
Fancy knowing more?
Let’s go!
The pulpit in the church of Sant’Andrea
The church of Sant’Andrea was founded in the 8th century, but its present form dates to the 12th.
You’ll recognise it at once, because the exterior plays with the two-coloured marbles typical of this part of Tuscany, in both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the alternating white and green bands create an unusual, precious effect. The façade bears the signature of Gruamonte (and his brother Adeodato): the lintel of the central doorway shows a fine depiction of the Journey of the Magi, an uncommon scene, perhaps chosen because the church stands along the Via Francigena, the great pilgrimage road.
But the work that made this ancient church famous is, beyond doubt, the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, an absolute masterpiece of the sculpture of its time.
Let me tell you about it.
The symbolic meanings of the pulpit
The pulpit by Giovanni Pisano was completed in 1301, when the sculptor was already about fifty, and, being still a medieval sculpture, it is a weave of symbolic meanings.
Its division into three registers already has a meaning: three is a sacred number, recalling the Trinity and the otherworldly realms (hell, purgatory and heaven). The base stands for the truths of faith; between the Gothic arches are the figures of the Old Testament; at the top run the episodes of the New Testament.
The structure rests on seven porphyry columns, six set in a ring and one at the centre. Some sit on richly carved bases: at the foot of one is Atlas, mankind crushed by the weight of sin; on another a lioness suckling her cubs, an image of Christ nourishing the faithful; on a third a lion savaging a horse, that is, true faith defeating heresy and the Antichrist. The central column rests on three winged creatures (an eagle, a griffin and a lion), symbols of death, resurrection and the final judgment.
Between the little arches, sibyls and prophets foreshadow the New Testament and symbolically hold up the topmost register, where you find the five scenes from the life of Christ: the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Massacre of the Innocents (the most agitated and dramatic), the Crucifixion and the Last Judgment.
From medieval art to the Renaissance
When you look at this masterpiece, pay attention above all to the emotional details.
You’ll notice a great care for the characters’ reactions, something medieval art didn’t know, where figures stayed detached and “without feeling”. Here, instead, you sense the grief of the mothers in the Massacre of the Innocents, the anguish of the Virgin in the Crucifixion, the despair of the damned in the Last Judgment.
It’s a striking change, marking the point where Giovanni surpasses the art of his father Nicola, the maker of the celebrated pulpits of the Pisa Baptistery (1260) and Siena Cathedral (1268), turning his calm classicism into scenes of intense realism.
How to visit the pulpit
The pulpit is in the church of Sant’Andrea, on Via Sant’Andrea, in the old town of Pistoia, easily reached by train from Florence in a little over half an hour. Remember it’s a place of worship: check the opening times and bring a few coins for the token-operated lighting, which makes the reliefs “come alive”.
To really grasp the context, a guided tour of Pistoia’s old town takes you among this church, the cathedral and the other wonders of a city too often skipped. And if you love sculpture that tells emotions, after Pisano let yourself be guided by the pictorial revolution of Giotto.
I think it’s an absolute masterpiece: what will you make of it when you stand before it?
