Scene Analysis: The Siena Pulpit

The Siena pulpit shares many common scenes with that of the Pisa Baptistery, but once again approaches them with innovation and originality. The Nativity is depicted once again, but additionally on the left the announcing angel is telling Mary of her unborn child. This panel is clearly inspired heavily by French Gothic art, which had not yet peaked for religious use. The next panel is the Journey and Adoration of the magi, which is unique in that horsemen riding in from the left with sheep and dogs suggest a more naturalistic approach and a roman influence. The naturalism once again connects their current world to the world of biblical times. The next scene depicted is the Presentation in the Temple and Flight into Egypt. This scene is separated

The metaphor in this relief is hard hitting, as this is the only scene without Mary, Joseph or Jesus. In fact, Nicola made a point to show that this scene was without Christ; godless. Pictured are 24 nude jewish children, rather than the standard 3 or 4, struggling against the Roman Soldiers who are to kill them to avoid the fulfilment of the prophecy that the “King of the Jews” would rise up against the Roman powers. The emotional nature and sharp features of this portion of the pulpit are aimed straight at the heartstrings; it tells the story of the prosecution of innocent jews and children. This is an unusual depiction of this event, but an accurate one that Pisano was dedicated to showing. Similar to the Pisa pulpit, the Crucifixion is its own scene, but unlike the Pisa pulpit Mary is in the foreground of the picture, mourning the torture and death of her son. Finally, the scenes conclude with The Last Judgement with The Blessed. This is split into two separate panels; the Final Judgment with Christ intersecting the Blessed and the Damned. Angels can be seen sending people either to hell, where there are figures being torn at by demons, or heaven, where the blessed look calmly toward Jesus. Overall, it can be concluded that while the Pisa pulpit focused on hope and the Lord’s humanity, the Siena pulpit focused