ISAIA DA PISA

This relief depicting seven angels represents the upper of two surviving panels from the Tabernacle of the Holy Sacrament in the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The second panel remains in the church, namely in the sacristy of the Chapel of Sixtus V. Dismantled in 1573, the altar was one of a number of improvements in the church instituted by Cardinal Guillaume d’Estouteville, archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore during much of the 15th century.

In 1453 a triumphal arch was built as the entrance to the Castel Nuovo in Naples. This was intended to commemorate the temporary arch that had been erected in front of the cathedral when King Alfonso entered the city in triumph in 1443. Typifying Alfonso’s dependence on Spanish staff, the Catalan master Pere Joan (active 1400-58) oversaw the project. Under his direction Pietro da Milano, a Lombard sculptor who had spent his early years working in Ragusa in Dalmatia, supervised the work of at least five master sculptors (including Francesco Laurana) and thirty-three assistants. Sculptural work was allocated to different workers, ensuring a speedy completion of the project.

From 1455 to 1458 Isaia worked on the Arch of Alfonso I of Aragon. His precise contribution to the sculptural programme is controversial, probably Isaia’s and his shop’s contribution is limited to the lower fields of the arch.

In 1453 a triumphal arch was built as the entrance to the Castel Nuovo in Naples. This was intended to commemorate the temporary arch that had been erected in front of the cathedral when King Alfonso entered the city in triumph in 1443. Typifying Alfonso’s dependence on Spanish staff, the Catalan master Pere Joan (active 1400-58) oversaw the project. Under his direction Pietro da Milano, a Lombard sculptor who had spent his early years working in Ragusa in Dalmatia, supervised the work of at least five master sculptors (including Francesco Laurana) and thirty-three assistants. Sculptural work was allocated to different workers, ensuring a speedy completion of the project.

From 1455 to 1458 Isaia worked on the Arch of Alfonso I of Aragon. His precise contribution to the sculptural programme is controversial, probably Isaia’s and his shop’s contribution is limited to the lower fields of the arch.

The marble high-relief Virgin and Child, known as the Orsini Madonna, can be identified with a commission of 1451 by Cardinal Pietro Barbo (the future Pope Paul II) in honour of his uncle Eugenius IV. It depicts the Virgin and Child between St Peter with Eugenius IV and St Paul with Cardinal Latino Orsini.

An early work by Isaia is the tomb of Antonio Mart�nez Chaves, the Cardinal of Portugal, originally in San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. The commission for the tomb was initially given to Filarete; Isaia had apparently not yet completed it in 1449, when Filarete attempted to return to Rome to reclaim the commission. The sculptures from the dismantled tomb are incorporated in two monuments, a Baroque resetting of the Chaves tomb and the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva (d 1574), both in San Giovanni in Laterano.

The original Chaves tomb can be reconstructed from a drawing. The effigy and half-length figures in the centre are flanked by standing allegories in niches. Prudence, now belonging to the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva, was one of the standing allegories of the Chaves tomb.

Pius II commissioned Paolo Romano and Isaia da Pisa to make a tabernacle for St Andrew’s head. The reliquary tabernacle was destroyed when the new St Peter’s was built, leaving only remnants of its original sculpture. This relief is from the upper faces of the tabernacle.

An early work by Isaia is the tomb of Antonio Mart�nez Chaves, the Cardinal of Portugal, originally in San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. The commission for the tomb was initially given to Filarete; Isaia had apparently not yet completed it in 1449, when Filarete attempted to return to Rome to reclaim the commission. The sculptures from the dismantled tomb are incorporated in two monuments, a Baroque resetting of the Chaves tomb and the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva (d 1574), both in San Giovanni in Laterano.

The original Chaves tomb can be reconstructed from a drawing. The effigy and half-length figures in the centre are flanked by standing allegories in niches. Temperance, now belonging to the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva, was one of the standing allegories of the Chaves tomb. This figure derives from the antique Venus Genetrix type.

An early work by Isaia is the tomb of Antonio Mart�nez Chaves, the Cardinal of Portugal, originally in San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. The commission for the tomb was initially given to Filarete; Isaia had apparently not yet completed it in 1449, when Filarete attempted to return to Rome to reclaim the commission. The sculptures from the dismantled tomb are incorporated in two monuments, a Baroque resetting of the Chaves tomb and the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva (d 1574), both in San Giovanni in Laterano.

The original tomb can be reconstructed from a drawing. The effigy and half-length figures in the centre are flanked by standing allegories in niches; it is probably the first example of a scheme that was to become characteristic of Roman tombs. Isaia’s execution of the sculpture does not necessarily imply that he invented the format, but the figures, with their overt references to antique models - Temperance, for example, derives from the Venus Genetrix type - is as forward-looking as the design itself. This all’antica style helps to explain Isaia’s popularity with his humanist patrons.

Fra Angelico died on 18 February 1455 in the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. By the mid-fifteenth century Santa Maria sopra Minerva had become the major church of the Dominicans in Rome, housing the tombs of its most eminent cardinals and the Order’s renowned mystic, St Catherine of Siena. Instead of being laid to rest in the cloister, Angelico was accorded the extraordinary honour of burial within the church. Isaia da Pisa, who carved the tomb of Pope Eugenius IV, portrayed the life-sized effigy. The sculptor represented Angelico with his head resting on a cushion and his hands serenely crossed in death.

Fra Angelico died on 18 February 1455 in the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. By the mid-fifteenth century Santa Maria sopra Minerva had become the major church of the Dominicans in Rome, housing the tombs of its most eminent cardinals and the Order’s renowned mystic, St Catherine of Siena. Instead of being laid to rest in the cloister, Angelico was accorded the extraordinary honour of burial within the church. Isaia da Pisa, who carved the tomb of Pope Eugenius IV, portrayed the life-sized effigy. The sculptor represented Angelico with his head resting on a cushion and his hands serenely crossed in death.

The effigy of St Monica was probably part of a chapel erected by the humanist poet Maffeo Vegio in Sant’Agostino and may have been begun by Isaia in 1455 and completed by assistants.

The effigy of St Monica was probably part of a chapel erected by the humanist poet Maffeo Vegio in Sant’Agostino and may have been begun by Isaia in 1455 and completed by assistants.