NANNI DI BANCO
(b. ca. 1375, Firenze, d. 1421, Firenze)

Porta della Mandorla

1414-21
Marble
Duomo, Florence

Nanni's only other known documented figural work - besides St Luke for the central portal of the Duomo - is the high relief of the Assumption of the Virgin for the tympanum of the Porta della Mandorla, a work that is full of robust movement and was much admired by Vasari. Begun in 1414, the relief was substantially complete by the sculptor's death in 1421. Taking into account the intervention of pupils (among whom may have been Luca della Robbia) in the carving, the relief features gothicizing drapery patterns that may reflect Nanni's response to the style of the portal into which it was to be inserted, rather than any significant shift in his late style.

The Porta della Mandorla is the left side door of the north side of the Florence Cathedral. It was built from 1391 to 1423, with various sculptors, including Donatello and, above all, Nanni di Banco. It owes its name to the representation in the tympanum of the Assumption of the Virgin within an almond-shaped halo.