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

Dairymen and Cheese-sellers

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

One of the most celebrated sculptural cycles in the vast decorative scheme of the Basilica of San Marco is the cycle of the Venetian Trades (Crafts) on the soffit of the arch of the central doorway. The thirteen trades include vintners (wine merchants), bakers, butchers, masons, barbers, blacksmiths and fishermen. They are depicted with vivid realism and in minute details: the sculptures even render their gestures with great naturalness. The animated scenes give a faithful picture of daily life in thirteenth-century Venice.