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The most interesting sculptural works undertaken during the last decades of the fourteenth century in Tuscany fall in the realm of metalwork and not of sculpture. These are the two silver altars for the cathedrals of Pistoia and Florence.
The altar in Florence was commissioned in 1366, and the greater part of the front was completed in the next decade; in this case the side pieces were not finished till the third quarter of the fifteenth century.
This masterpiece by the Florentine silversmiths' workshop adorned the high altar of the Baptistery: it was commissioned by the Cloth Finishers and Merchants' Guild, the exclusive sponsor of the monument, and on the lower band are commemoratively inscribed the names of the Officers of the Guild, and the year in which the piece was begun.
The altar possesses a rich and highly elegant structure, in the late Gothic style: pilasters pierced by small niches holding statuettes separate twelve relief panels narrating episodes of the life of St John the Baptist (eight on the front, and four on the two sides). In the centre is the statue of St John himself.
The front section was realized in the fourteenth century: even though it is the result of the work of numerous silversmiths, the style is uniform, and reflects the taste of the era, refined and favouring great decorative richness. After the middle of the fifteenth century, outstanding artists contributed to the altar: Michelozzo, the Medici family's beloved architect and sculptor, accomplished the statue of the Saint for the central niche, while Antonio del Pollaiolo and Verrocchio added the two splendid side panels: the first shows the Nativity of St John the Baptist, in a lively, spontaneous scene, animated by exceptionally elegant rhythmic movement; the latter artist provided the panel with the "Decapitation": this is a complex and spirited composition, in which the figures show extremely varied emotional reactions, with such richness that has suggested the activity of Leonardo da Vinci, a student in the workshop of Verrocchio.
The picture shows the left side of the altar with Antonio del Pollaiuolo's relief showing the Nativity of St John the Baptist.
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