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The Dalla Masegne brothers signed the central section of the iconostasis (choir screen) in San Marco, Venice, in 1394, which would suggest that they must have begun this large project c. 1392-933.
The iconostasis sculptures reveal two radically different styles. One group is formed by the twelve marble Apostles of the central section. These show marked similarities with mid-14th-century Lombard sculpture, particularly with works of Bonino da Campione, who was active in Verona. The strongly expressive physiognomy of the Apostles' faces is close to the angels' faces on the tomb (Padua, Eremitani) of Ubertino da Carrara (d 1345) by Andriolo de' Santi of Venice, to such mid-14th-century mosaics in San Marco as those in the baptistery and also to Paolo Veneziano's paintings. This would suggest that this sculptor's roots lay in northern Italy.
The marble female figures on the lateral sections facing the chapel of San Clemente and the chapel of San Pietro are in a different style. Their similarity to Tuscan sculpture, particularly to the work of artists in the circle of Nino Pisano, is so strong that it would suggest that the sculptor stayed for a considerable time in Tuscany and continued working in the Tuscan style on his return to Venice.
Given that Pierpaolo was absent from Venice c. 1394 and that Jacobello was absent c. 1397, the figures in the central section, which is dated 1394, can be attributed to Jacobello and the lateral sections, dated 1397, to Pierpaolo. Both sculptors used assistants, and the stylistic differences within their sections are due mainly to different qualities of execution, not to independent designs.
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