Giovanni di Balduccio (c. 1290 – after 1339) was an Italian sculptor of the
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
period.
Life
The artist was born in
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, and likely did not train directly with the famous Pisan sculptor
Andrea Pisano. He travelled to
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
to help sculpt the arc of
St. Peter Martyr now in the
Portinari Chapel, in the
Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio
The Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is a church in Milan in northern Italy, which is in the Basilicas Park city park. It was for many years an important stop for pilgrims on their journey to Rome or to the Holy Land, because it was said to contain th ...
, work signed in 1339. He also worked on the portal of the church of the Brera in Milan. He also worked in
San Casciano in Val di Pesa and in the monument of
Guarniero in
Sarzana
Sarzana (, ; ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is east of La Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diverges to the ...
.
His style is known from four signed works. These formed the basis for a reconstruction of his oeuvre.
Recently, the ark of Saint Augustine, preserved in the Basilica of
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro
The Basilica of St. Peter in the Golden Sky () is an 8th-century Catholic Church, Catholic basilica and monastery church served for centuries by the Order of St. Augustine, Augustinian friars in Pavia, in the Lombardy region of Italy. The basilic ...
in
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
and built between 1362 and 1365 (but not completely finished), has been attributed, as already suggested by important scholars, such as
Wilhelm Valentiner and Francesco Caglioti, the Pisan master. In all probability, Giovanni did not die in 1349, but remained operational in
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
at least until 1365, the year in which the work of the ark of Saint Augustine was interrupted, which was then made by Giovanni di Balduccio, now elderly, along with some of his students.
Secondary Sources
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References
External links
1290 births
14th-century deaths
Artists from Pisa
14th-century Italian sculptors
Italian male sculptors
Gothic sculptors
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