The Entombment of John

The relief of the southern doors of the baptistery in Florence. This scene from the bronze doors of the Baptistry represents John the Baptist's disciples carry his body to burial. It features toga-clad figures within archetypically Gothic quatrefoils. Pisano's doors are at the doorway visible on the left. These bronze doors were commissioned by the Calimala, the guild responsible for the maintenance and decoration of the Baptistry, perhaps imagining a grand doorway, like those in Pisa or Venice. Prior to this, large-scale casting had not been done in Florence. Little is known for certain about Andrea's background. It is clear he had been a goldsmith, but this is his first authenticated large work. (It is signed and dated at the top).