PISANO, Giovanni
(b. ca. 1250, Pisa, d. 1314, Pisa)

Moses

c. 1290
Marble
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena

On the façade of Siena Cathedral, among the prophets and patriarchs, such as Isaiah, Habakkuk, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, there are also Mary of Moses, Balaam, the Eritrean Sibyl, and more surprisingly there are Plato and Aristotle. The statues have been removed from their original positions, and are exhibited at eye level in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Siena.

The monumental statues, larger than life size, were conceived for a view from a distance and from below but carefully finished in the visible parts. They constitute a complex of expressive intensity, and were designed to lead the spectator's eye towards the central Marian group. The characterizing power of gestures and faces, of penetrating impact, is supported by the movement of drapery, locks of hair and beards in a dynamic plasticism built with strong linearism, making this work one of the best achievements of European Gothic.

The picture shows the figure of Moses from the façade of Siena Cathedral. In this statue the supressed emotional fervour seems to have permeated every detail of the form. The rhetorical design has an authority that looks forward to Michelangelo.