MEDIEVAL SCULPTOR, Italian
(active mid-13th century in Venice)

Allegories of the Months: January

mid-13th century
Stone
Basilica di San Marco, Venice

Allegorical cycles of the Months of the Year flourished in the Romanesque and Gothic art of Western Europe. The cycle in San Marco, framed by a trellis of vines, is notable for its vivid realism and descriptive detail, qualities that show that local sculptors were familiar with similar carvings in Northern Italy and France.