Tomb of San Pietro Martire

The tomb in the church of St. Eustorgio, Milan, is the work of Giovanni di Balduccio (working 1317/8 - 1349) and is signed and dated 1339, more than a century before the work of Mino da Fiesole (perhaps written on Notebook M p.19 as Nino da Fiesole, with which it seems to be compared here). Giovanni was apprenticed to Giovanni Pisano, and the earliest works attributed to him were on the exterior of the Campo Santo in Pisa. He made a Virgin and Child for Santa Maria della Spina in Pisa, as well as work in Florence. The reference to Pisan sculpture in the side heading is entirely reasonable.

Murray’s Guide 1847, page 176 recognises its excellence but uses it to make an anti-Catholic gibe; Ruskin does not.

For a photograph see here and White (1993) pp486-487.

[Version 0.05: May 2008]