Niccolò: A North Italian Sculptor of the Twelfth Century

Abstract

In the school of Romanesque sculpture which flourished in Lombardy during the first half of the twelfth century, two sculptors are distinguished from their contemporaries by the fact that they have left signed works. The first of these from a chronological point of view is Wiligelmus of Modena, who is associated with the sculptural decoration of the cathedral in that city, created between the years 1097 and 1107. The second sculptor bore the name Niccolò and was active in a number of places in North Italy from about 1120 to 1150. To reconstruct his creative career is the object of this article.¹