Giovanni Pisano

Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia.

Henry Moore, referring to his statues for the facade of Siena Cathedral, called him "the first modern sculptor".

Giovanni's next work was at Pisa Cathedral, sculpting the statues in the two rows of traceried gables at the exterior of the Baptistry (1277–1284).

The pulpit has five reliefs: the Annunciation and Nativity; the Adoration, the Dream of the Magi and the Angel warning Joseph; the Massacre of the Innocents; the Crucifixion; and the Last Judgement.

Giovanni's work between 1302 and 1310 at the new pulpit for the Cathedral of Pisa shows his distinct preference for animation in his characters and moved his father's style even further away.

His last major work dates probably from 1313 when he made a monument in memory of Margaret of Brabant (who died in 1311) at the request of her husband emperor Henry VII.

Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Pisano in his book Le vite dei più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architetti.