Nicola Pisano and Hieronymus Bosch

Gothic/Renaissance Artifacts

The Gothic and Renaissance were tumultuous periods in terms of art and architecture. These were times of wild creativity and rapid development when it came to style and subject matter. Artists and architects used not only their own minds and current cultural milieu to create their works, but gained significant depth of expression by acknowledging the traditions of the past. These were used to mold new ideas and new ways of art in a way that was unprecedented at the time. Two examples of this kind of development are Nicola Pisano's marble pulpit of the Pisa Cathedral and Hieronymus Bosch's "The Last Judgment."

Description of Artifacts

Nicola Pisano's marble pulpit in the Pisa Cathedral is a remarkable work indeed. Supported by nine columns, the pulpit is shaped like an octagon and placed on semi-circular arches. Three of the columns are supported by marble lions. The main octagon contains five stories that depict the life of Christ in relief, including the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation at the Temple, and the Crucifixion (Encyclopedia of Sculpture, n.d.). Many consider this his finest work for its perfect balance between detail, simplicity, humanity and dignity.

Equally impressive is Bosch's triptych, "The Last Judgment." Being a painting, it is a colorful depiction of the negative side of Christianity. In three parts, it depicts the fall of humanity and its consequences. The first part depicts the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The second depicts the Second Coming of Christ, and the third depicts the suffering imposed by Satan in Hell. An interesting aspect of this work is the visual and thematic similarities between the Second Coming and Hell, both depicted with violent, fiery colors and chaos.

Makers of Artifacts

Both artists are surrounded by some mystery. Pisano's birth place and origins remain unclear, for example, while Bosch's life is shrouded in the unknown. Pisano claimed to be from Pisa and spent most of his life there, but according to historians, he was probably originally from Apulia in Southern Italy. Bosch was born in 's-Hertogenbosch in the duchy of Brabant, which is now known as the Netherlands. He changed his name from Jeroen van Aeken and took his artistic name partly from his home town. What is known about his life is that he came from an artistic family, with his father, brother and uncles all being painters (Bio, 2014).

Connections by Theme

Both Pisano's and Bosch's work have a progressive religious theme, depicting a progression between two points in a story. For Bosch, this progression is rather more elaborate than for Pisano. Bosch depicts, in three tableaux, the story from creation until the final judgment, which is currently still in the future. Pisano depicts the life of Christ.