BIDUINO

(b. ~1150 ?, d. ~1194 Toscana)

Biduino (Biduinus), Italian sculptor. He was possibly from Bidogno in Val, near Lugano. The lintel above the central portal of San Cassiano a Settimo, near Cascina, representing Christ Healing the Two Blind Men of Jericho, the Raising of Lazarus and the Entry into Jerusalem, bears the date 1180 and the inscription ‘Hoc opus quod cernis Biduinus docte peregit’ (This task is accomplished skillfully by Biduinus). Indeed, Biduino is considered responsible for the entire architecture and decoration of the church.

The only documented reference to Biduino records him in Lucca on 27 November 1181, and one signed (but undated) work survives there: a lintel with a Miracle of St Nicholas at the Chiesa della Misericordia (formerly San Salvatore). Another lintel in the same church, illustrating the same saint’s life, is also attributed to him. Other signed works include a lintel with St Michael and the Entry into Jerusalem (Collection Mazzarosa, Lucca) from the nearby Sant’Angelo in Campo (destroyed) and a strigillated tomb (Camposanto, Pisa), imitating Roman sarcophagi, with reliefs of Lions Devouring Stags.

The autograph works allow the attribution to Biduino of other carvings with differently spelt or less legible signatures, for example a well with animal reliefs in the church of Sorbano del Vescovo at Capannori, near Lucca, and a pulpit with scenes from the Infancy of Christ (1194; San Michele in Groppoli, nr Pistoia). Important attributions on stylistic grounds include several friezes with animal motifs and the capitals of the lowest storey (c. 1173-74) of the campanile of Pisa Cathedral. Also attributed to him is the main portal (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) from San Leonardo al Frigido, near Massa.

Biduino’s name has been proposed for numerous other works, such as the lintel of the portal of San Micheletto, Lucca; the lintel of the main portal of Santa Maria at Diecimo, near Borgo a Mozzano; the tombstone of the parish priest Lieto in Santi Jacopo e Maria Assunta at Lammari, near Lucca; and the façade decoration of the parish church in Pieve San Paolo, near Lucca.

Together with his workshop, Biduino appears to have been one of the most prolific artists active in western Tuscany in the late 12th century. His characteristic style, exploiting strong contrasts of light and shade, recalls the works of such sculptors active during the period of his training as Guglielmo and Robertus.

Exterior view

Three portals, delimited by pillars with a rectangular base, are surmounted by lintels carved in bas-relief. The central lintel is the work of Biduino and bears his signature and date (1180) in the inscription. It depicts the Resurrection of Lazarus and the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. The relief on the left depicts a hunting scene with two men intent on blowing their horn (symbol of civilization) in the midst of real and fantastic animals (symbol of the devil). The relief on the right shows two griffins (cross between lion and eagle) or hippogriffs (cross between griffin and horse) representing Christ taming a bear, a symbol of evil.

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Lintel of the central portal

The lintel on the central portal is carved in bas-relief. It bears Biduino’s signature and date (1180) in the inscription. It depicts the Resurrection of Lazarus and the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem.

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Portal from the Church of San Leonardo al Frigido

This door marked the main entrance of a small church dedicated to St Leonard that is located on the Frigido River. Apparently, an Antique sarcophagus was reused for the supporting jambs on the sides of the door and was carved to show scenes of the Annunciation and the Visitation on the left and a large figure of St Leonard of Noblat, patron saint of prisoners, on the right. On the lintel above is Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, a scene particularly appropriate for the location of the church, on a main road that pilgrims followed through Italy en route to the Holy Land. While the style of the scene recalls Early Christian tomb reliefs, the same subject was famously carved over the door of the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the Crusader era. The doorway was created in the workshop of Biduinus, a sculptor whose name is known from his signature on several monuments preserved in the Pisa-Lucca area.

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