Pulpit in Pisa Cathedral (1302-11)

Giovanni Pisano's pulpit in Pisa Cathedral replaced an earlier pulpit by Guglielmo, now in Cagliari Cathedral. The pulpit was dismantled after a fire in 1595 and has suffered much damage from restorations, particularly those in 1926-29; its present position, between two of the nave columns instead of under the dome, makes it impossible to view it in the round.

The pulpit is the most sumptuous of the Pisano pulpits, it is of unprecedented size, dominated by the sense of continuous, multi-directional movement and frenetic energy. The complex iconographic programme was at least partly devised by the Dominicans of Santa Caterina, Pisa. The themes and sequences of the programme were prescribed by the patrons, but they were absorbed by Giovanni into his own harsh and dramatic vision, and he may have influenced the choice of some of the scenes.