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In Rome Giovanni collaborated on many works with two of the foremost sculptors of the day: Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole. His style, however, preserved its individuality, and he apparently did not attempt to match his work to that of his collaborators.
With Mino da Fiesole he worked on the tomb of Pope Paul II (d. 1471). The tomb in Old St Peter's was destroyed, fragments are in the Grotte Vaticane, Rome, and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Its original appearance is known from an engraving. It was the largest and most elaborate papal tomb of its date and incorporated more figure sculpture than any contemporary Roman monument. Originally it was in the form of a triumphal arch flanked by two columns, with the carved effigy of the recumbent Pope (by Giovanni Dalmata) lying on a sarcophagus, surrounded by carved reliefs of personifications of Virtues and historiated reliefs above and below. Giovanni was responsible for the reliefs of the Resurrection and the Creation of Eve beneath the bier, the large relief of God the Father in Glory above it and a statue of Hope, which he signed.
Dalmata's style is original and forceful, showing a knowledge of Classical sculpture, but he had a greater sense of drama and characterization than his collaborators. Typical of his style are the vigorous modelling and triangular forms of the drapery in the figure of Hope.
The picture shows the effigy of the recumbent Pope.
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