BUGGIANO

The funerary monument to Brunelleschi contains his bust, the features of which repeat those of the plaster death mask, which may have been made by Buggiano.

In the 1440s, Buggiano carved other works in marble for the cathedral, including a tabernacle of Corpus Christi (1443), eventually placed in the lateral tribune on the north side; the fluted columns and cornice of the altar of the SS Sacramento (1446), based on a design by Michelozzo di Bartolommeo and located in the same tribune; and the funerary monument to Filippo Brunelleschi, consisting of a tondo containing his bust (1447–48). The features of the bust repeat those of the plaster death mask, which may have been made by Buggiano.

In the apse, the Cardini (or Orlandi-Cardini) chapel is entered through an elegant arch flanked by columns, all in pietra serena. The chapel houses a venerated 15th century stucco crucifix, called the Crocefisso della Corda Pia, which is said to have been involved in miracles. This chapel was found to have quattrocento-period frescoes, attributed to Neri di Bicci, depicting the brothers Cardini in prayer with the patrons of the town and valley.

By 1438 Buggiano was back in Florence working on a marble lavabo in the Sagrestia delle Messe in the cathedral, a commission that had been given to Brunelleschi in 1432. This work, conceived as a Classical aedicula surrounding two putti in low relief sitting on a cushion and surmounted with a triangular pediment, was completed in 1440. In 1442 Buggiano began work on a similar marble lavabo for the Sagrestia dei Canonici of the cathedral. This version is more lively, both in its subject-matter and decoration, while the handling shows the influence of Donatello.

By 1438 Buggiano was back in Florence working on a marble lavabo in the Sagrestia delle Messe in the cathedral, a commission that had been given to Brunelleschi in 1432. This work, conceived as a Classical aedicula surrounding two putti in low relief sitting on a cushion and surmounted with a triangular pediment, was completed in 1440. In 1442 Buggiano began work on a similar marble lavabo for the Sagrestia dei Canonici of the cathedral. This version is more lively, both in its subject-matter and decoration, while the handling shows the influence of Donatello.

A puer mingens (Latin, plural pueri mingentes) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a prepubescent boy in the act of urinating, either actual or simulated. The term puer mingens comes from the Latin puer, meaning “boy”, and from the Latin mingens, the present participle of the verb mingere which means “to urinate”.

The puer mingens could represent anything from whimsy and boyish innocence to erotic symbols of virility and masculine bravado. one can find depictions of a puer mingens “making water” in works in church lavabos whose waterspouts are positioned in front of naked boys’ groins (thereby giving the illusion that their urine has been transformed into water). Pueri mingentes were frequently incorporated as fully functioning statues whose pipes shot forth streams of water out of the statues’ penises. One of the most famous examples of this is the Manneken Pis in Brussels.

Buggiano’s lavabos in the sacristies of Florence Cathedral show two pueri mingentes.

The picture shows one of the four stucco reliefs of the Virgin and Child attributed to Buggiano.

In 1443 Buggiano had begun to carve a circular marble pulpit for the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, based on a model by Brunelleschi and financed by the monk Andrea Rucellai. The pulpit, with its richly carved mouldings, betrays an element of ingenuity and repetition in the four panels depicting scenes of the Life of the Virgin; the work was completed in 1452, after much delay, and was assembled and evaluated by Antonio Rossellino and Desiderio da Settignano.

The picture shows the Annunciation, one of the four panels depicting scenes of the Life of the Virgin on the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella.

The picture shows the Assumption, one of the four panels depicting scenes of the Life of the Virgin on the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella.

The picture shows the Nativity, one of the four panels depicting scenes of the Life of the Virgin on the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella.

The picture shows the Presentation in the Temple, one of the four panels depicting scenes of the Life of the Virgin on the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella.

It was suggested in the literatue that Buggiano had also been an architect, but to date there is no documentary proof for this. In particular, the Oratory of the Madonna Pi� di Piazza, Pescia (Pistoia), founded in 1447, and the Cardini Chapel in the church of S Francesco at Pescia, which is similar in appearance to the painted architecture of Masaccio’s Trinity fresco in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, are attributed to him. Both buildings are judged to be immature and provincial creations, but are distinguished by virtue of being the first in the Renaissance style outside Florence.