Monday, June 18, 2018

Giovanni Pisano, Sculptor

Giovanni Pisano, Sculptor by Michael Ayrton and Henry Moore, 192 pages
Image result for Giovanni Pisano, Sculptor Ayrton, Michael

Together with his father Nicola, Giovanni Pisano stands on the border between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance - indeed, the authors of this book place that border between them.  Of course, this only highlights how insubstantial that border is - Giovanni's sculptures mark a turn towards expressive Renaissance naturalism but are animated by the Medieval imagination.

To properly appreciate Giovanni Pisano's accomplishments requires a considerable work of imaginative reconstruction, given how much of his output is lost, damaged, or altered in the name of "renovation".  For this labor, the assistance of guides such as Ayrton and Moore, not only art experts but working sculptors themselves, is both a source of pleasure and a cause for gratitude.

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