Monument of Giovanni di Brienne
by RAMO DI PAGANELLO, Marble
The monument of Giovanni di Brienne in the lower church of S Francesco, Assisi, commissioned between 1326 and 1328, has been attributed to Ramo because of its sophisticated Tuscan style with north European overtones.
This imposing sepulchral monument is considered by some scholars to be the tomb of a member of the Brienne dynasty (the most favoured is Giovanni di Brienne). The tomb is probably the result of a reconstruction of one or more tombs, including perhaps one erected in memory of Giovanni’s daughter: the queen of Jerusalem, Isabella di Brienne. Other scholars assumed that the monument is the tomb of another member of the Brienne family: Philippe de Courtenay (1243-1283), the son of Baudouin II de Courtenay (1218-1273) and Marie de Brienne (1225-1275).
Giovanni di Brienne (c. 1170-1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He died as a Franciscan friar in 1237.