Siena Cathedral Baptistery (Siena, Italy) : The front (north) elevation

Creator:
unknown (Italian)
Published/Created:
Siena Cathedral, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
ca. 1319-1369
Date Depicted:
ca. 1990's
500 AD - 1499 AD
Materials:
marble
stone
Notes:
A new baptistery (S Giovanni) was set into the slope beneath to support the new choir construction. In 1319, probably under the direction of Camaino di Crescentino ( fl 1298-1338), the walls and piers of the baptistery were built on the foundations, and in 1320 marble was being brought for the external facing. In 1325 the great arches over the baptistery to support the new choir bays were completed. Shortly afterwards, work on the baptistery and choir extension was suspended, and it was resumed only after the failure of the Duomo Nuovo. From 1355 a 'veritable army' (Lusini) of workmen was engaged to complete the work, recruited by Domenico d'Agostino ( fl 1343-1369), Master of the Works until c. 1369. The portals of the baptistery are based on a drawing datable to the 1320s (Siena, Mus. Opera Duomo), but three large windows were built instead of the four projected in the drawing. The polychrome marble façade was given a horizontal roof line, but the top section, at the level of the cathedral clerestory, was left in rough stone, and in 1369 the large oculus made for the end of the old choir was transferred to it.
Variant Titles:
Battistero di San Giovanni
Topics:
Architecture -- Italy -- 14th century -- (YVRC)
Period/Style:
Gothic (Medieval)
Culture:
Italian
Accession Number:
1A2-I-S-B-1-A4
Genre:
architecture (AAT)
baptisteries (AAT)
churches: cathedrals (AAT)
Format:
Image
Content Type:
Sculptures, Models, & Architecture
Rights:
Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.
Access Restrictions:
Yale Community Only
Digital:
architectural exteriors construction buildings; religious buildings; baptisteries
Source Creator:
Gilchrist, Scott
Source Title:
Archivision Module Two
Source Created:
2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
ca. 1990's
Source Note:
Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist
Yale Collection:
Visual Resources Collection
Digital Collection:
Visual Resources Collection
Local Record Number:
4152
OID:
10168197
PID:
digcoll:1832434