Active Analysis - CLIL THE PULPIT OF SANT’ANDREA GIOVANNI PISANO ARTIST TITLE The Pulpit of Sant’Andrea DATE/YEAR 1298-1301 MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUE  marble and porphyry (for the columns)   DIMENSIONS h 455 cm LOCATION  Pistoia, Church of Sant’Andrea A pulpit is a sort of balcony located inside a church. The  priest celebrated Mass in the pulpit, so he could be seen and heard by everyone. The Pulpit of Sant’Andrea , a masterpiece by the sculptor  Giovanni Pisano (Pisa, 1245 ca.-Siena, 1318), is a six-sided structure. The hexagonal ‘floor’ is on columns and surrounded by a parapet, a low wall to prevent people from falling. The parapet is made of marble slabs carved with bas-relief decorations. These sculptures tell five stories from the Life of Christ. The parapet runs around five of the six sides: one side is open to provide access to the pulpit. Each of the corners is accented with a statue of an Old  Testament figure: an invitation to walk around the pulpit to see them all. The ‘floor’ is supported by columns, one of which is at  the center. Observe the pulpit and answer the questions below.  1    How many columns support the pulpit? ☐ Five.  ☐ Six.  ☐ Seven.  2    Two of the columns rest on animals. These are: ☐ Eagles.  ☐ Bulls.  ☐ Lions.  3    One of the columns rests on an architectural element,  widely used in Classical art, called a ‘Telamon’. It is: ☐ a figure of a man.  ☐ a serpent.  ☐ an ox. Choose the correct word or phrase. The scenes shown on the parapet panels are  1    flat / in   relief and seem to push outward from the foreground /  background thanks to a play of light and shadow. This  technique gives the figures a static quality / sense of  movement and heightens their expressivity. Answer. Do you think that the richness of the decoration   1    of the parapet distracted the churchgoers listening to the priest?          YES         NO What was the function of the decoration?  2    Talk about this with your classmates. .......................................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................... ..........................................................................................................................................................................................