PISANO, Nicola
(active 1258-1278)

Pulpit reliefs: Madonna and Child

1265-68
Marble, height 85 cm
Duomo, Siena

This detail from the pulpit is an almost free-standing, majestically human Madonna and Child. Here flesh replaces marble, and the sculpted drapery has become a heavy-hanging, softly textured cloth. The folds are rich and deeply cut, yet they reveal the living forms beneath clearly.