Arnolfo di Cambio

(c. 1245-c. 1310)

   Italian architect and sculptor, born in Colle di Val D'Elsa, the pupil of Nicola Pisano whom he assisted on the Siena pulpit. Arnolfo left Pisano's studio sometime after 1268, and in 1277 he is recorded in the court of Charles D'Anjou. His earliest known commission is the Arca di San Domenico, St. Dominic's tomb at San Domenico Maggiore in Bologna (1264-1267), the work originally given to Pisano who, in turn, gave it to his pupils as he was occupied with the Siena pulpit. Arnolfo contributed three of the caryatid figures that support the Arca, the Virgin and Child in the center front, and some of the narrative reliefs of St. Dominic's life. In 1293, Arnolfo received a solo commission from Cardinal Jean Cholet to build the baldachin (ceremonial canopy) for the main altar of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome. He was also responsible for the design of two important tombs: the Monument of Cardinal Guillaume de Braye in San Domenico, Orvieto (c. 1282), and the tomb of Boniface VIII for Old St. Peter's, of which only the portrait bust of the pope has survived (c. 1300; Vatican Grotto). As architect, Arnolfo made a number of important contributions. In Florence, he built the Church of La Santisima Trinità (1250s), the Franciscan Church of Santa Croce (beg. 1294), and the Palazzo Vecchio (1299-1310). He is also recorded in 1300 working on the Cathedral of Florence. These contributions to the Florentine urban fabric gained him such fame that he was exempted from paying taxes.