132. Nicola Pisano, Pulpit,
Baptistery, Pisa (Italy), 1260.

Marble, h: 465 cm. In situ.

 

 

Despite the affectation of forms, which Gothic sculpture adopted at the end of the Middle Ages, there was always a competition with nature. Painting had to help and was widely applied to sculptures made from various materials such as wood, stone and stucco. Sculpture was intended to replace nature, and to achieve this goal all possibilities were explored. To the modern aesthetic sense, cultivated by nineteenth century colourless sculpture, the results often seem barbaric and exaggerated. Medieval naturalism considered the most beautiful to be as worthy of detailed depiction as the most horrible. This essentially proved its artistic validity. The method of depiction was of the greatest importance; the representational aspect remained secondary. Art only moves forward when great, all-encompassing thoughts define and shake the times (which is rare), or when the artists delve deeper into the creative secrets of nature. Gothic architecture always strove towards spiritualisation in all forms of expression. The very size of the rooms gave rise to spiritual reflection. At the same time, reality is observed more astutely and the sculptures became more expressive and realistic. The faces expressed sincerity and grace. They had souls. The symbolic depiction became allegoric depiction. There can be no doubt that some of the Gothic sculptors relied on models from Antiquity. This can be clearly seen, for example, in the Annunciation in Reims Cathedral, and, even more strongly, in the works of the Italian Nicola Pisano.