TINO DI CAMAINO
(b. ca. 1285, Siena, d. ca. 1337, Napoli)

Tomb of Emperor Henry VII (fragments)

1315
Marble
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Pisa

On 12 February 1315 Tino, mentioned as Giovanni Pisano's successor as Master of the Works of Pisa Cathedral, was commissioned to erect the tomb of the Emperor Henry VII (d 1313) in the choir of Pisa Cathedral. This work was largely completed by July 1315, when Tino suddenly left Pisa for Siena. The tomb was dismantled in 1494 and a smaller monument in the south transept was pieced together from fragments; the group of statues originally consisting of the Emperor enthroned between six advisers was placed in the Camposanto (now Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Pisa).

According to one reconstruction the monument was fixed to the apse wall behind and high above the free-standing altar. The base, carrying the unadorned sarcophagus, was supported at the back by massive consoles, and its front corners were carried on spiral columns. At the front of this structure, in the centre, was the recumbent effigy of the Emperor in a low death chamber flanked by reliefs, each bearing three figures; four more figures were carved on the reliefs at either end, making a total of 14 figures representing the Apostles and Evangelists. Above was a majestic baldacchino sheltering the group of statues flanking the enthroned Emperor.

Even with the help of a workshop, this monument could not have been executed in the half year to July 1315, and it is therefore not surprising that the hand of a second master is discernible. Compared with the statue of the Emperor, those of the advisers are rougher and heavier in construction, the design of the draperies is less imaginative, and the faces are plumper and more solidly modelled. Although features characteristic of Tino can certainly be recognized, and the statues are often attributed to him, it seems more likely that they were carved by another master, possibly his successor as Master of the Cathedral Works, Lupo di Francesco.