Pisano, Nicola, << pee SAH noh, nee KAW lah >> (1210?-1278?), was an Italian sculptor, as was his son Giovanni. Nicola Pisano’s reliefs were created in the classical style that anticipates the art of the Renaissance.
Pisano was probably born in southern Italy and later moved to Pisa. His masterpiece is the six-sided pulpit (1260) in the Baptistery of Pisa. He carved scenes of quiet dignity for the panels, using forms and details borrowed from Roman monuments. In 1268, Pisano finished a large, eight-sided pulpit for the Cathedral of Siena. In this work, Pisano created more dramatic, unified, and action-filled scenes than in his earlier sculptures.
