The Pulpit


(The Pisa Pulpit, 1320, by Italian artist Giovanni Pisano) 

This amazing piece of artwork was often criticized as an awful disaster. Although depending on your view of this marble carving, you'll find it to be astonishing. Created seven hundred years ago by the Italian Gothic sculptor, Giovanni Pisano, who named this carving the Pisa Pulpit. The reason this carving was viewed as a disaster by upcoming historians was due to photographs. Creating a misconception on this carving. Showing these historians bland photos, making details seem cluttered and unorganized. Making many figures seem unproportionate and unhuman like, although Giovanni deliberately created them with such strange features.

Which lead historians to not realize the true beauty this artwork has to offer. As "You who marvel, judge by the correct law" which was a message inscribed on the Pulpit by Giovanni, meaning, the viewer's judgment is what makes this piece unique. Looking at sculpture, it's hard to tell from just one photo what kind of story is being told; or rather which story is being told. Each panel represents a time in Jesus's life from birth to crucifixion. Knowing these details adds more meaning to why the figures are shown the way they are; describing their emotions, amongst them self's and us. As we see the story of Jesus and how those during that time witnessed and experienced such an event; you truly grow appreciate the amount of work put into the Pisa Pulpit     

Even though many have criticized the Pulpit as a failure. I'm sure countless other people view the Pulpit as an amazing piece of artwork; that does what it was created to do, draw attention whether that gives positive feedback, or negative feedback. Either way the Pulpit is sight to behold. 


HENI Talks, "Giovanni Pisano, Pisa Pulpit," in Smarthistory, June 17, 2018, accessed September 22, 2020, Https://smarthistory.org/pisano-pisa-pulpit/.

Comments

  1. Ashley MSeptember 18, 2020 at 3:16 PM

    I agree with your assessment that this is a "sight to behold." This is marvelous, and it blows my mind that a person could call this a disaster. Even if this was a terrible rendering, which it is not, it would still be fantastic. I get that art is subjective, but I really have no words to describe the disappointment I have in those historians. I will say that I have not seen the photographs they were using to critique the piece so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I love the gothic art period with all its detail. This must have taken the artist ages to complete.

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