GIUSTI, Giovanni
(b. 1485, San Martino, d. 1549, Tours)

Monument of Louis XII and Anne of Bretagne

1515-31
Marble
Abbey Church, Saint-Denis

The most important and original work of the Giusti (Juste) brothers is the tomb of Louis XII at St Denis, commissioned by his successor Francis I, probably in 1515, and finished in 1531. It bears the name of Jean (Giovanni) only, but is often said to be a work of both brothers working in collaboration. The arrangement with the kneeling figures above links the design with the tomb of Charles VIII, and the placing of the gisants in an arcaded enclosure below follows the usual disposition of the fifteenth century. In all other respects, however, the tomb marks an innovation in French practice. First of all, the enclosure of the gisants is now almost a small chapel open at the sides and the ends. This feature is combined with the allegorical figures of the Virtues at the corners and the apostles in front of the arcade.

In the sculpture several different hands can be distinguished. Two groups - the apostles and the Virtues - seem to be Florentine in derivation and apparently connected with the style of Andrea Sansovino. The apostles and the Virtues can almost certainly be attributed to members of the Juste family. The bas-reliefs round the base seem also Florentine in style and indicate an artist trained in the studio of Bertoldo. On the other hand, as suggested by Vitry and Pradel, the kneeling figures of the King and Queen on the top of the tomb are likely to be by a French artist of the circle of Colombe. The most remarkable group consists of the two gisants. It seems likely that these figures are by a French artist with some knowledge of Italian sculpture. The statues are among the most remarkable works of the period. The sensitiveness of their modelling and the liveliness of their conception are shown up by the contrast with the heavy proportions and coarse modelling of the statues round the base of the tomb.




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