GRUAMONTE. - Sculptor active in Pistoia in the second half of the 12th century, known for having signed, together with his brother Adeodato, the architrave with the Cavalcade and the Adoration of the Magi on the door of the church of S. Andrea in Pistoia (1166). Also attributed to him are the carved architrave of S. Bartolomeo in Pantano (1167) and the other, somewhat later, one of S. Giovanni Fuorcivitas, likewise in Pistoia.

The sculptor clearly shows that he belonged to the current begun by that Guglielmo (v.) who carved the pulpit of Pisa now in Cagliari; but the fact that he signed the work of S. Andrea together with his brother makes it particularly difficult to reconstruct a distinct personality of his own. In the Cavalcade and in the Adoration the figures stand out from the damascened background, clothed in skeined draperies clinging to the bodies, and everything reveals the intention of achieving primarily effects of light and shadow. To G.'s mannerisms one may therefore trace other works derived from him, and the other contemporary sculptor, Biduino (v.), is in particular linked to him.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: B. C. K., s. v. in Thieme-Becker, XV, p. 118; P. Toesca, s. v. in Enc. Ital., XVII, p. 1007.

Gilberto Ronci

@incollection{ec6_gruamonte, author = {Ronci, Gilberto}, title = {Gruamonte}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VI}, pages = {1187--1188}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/gruamonte} }

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