Author: Tullio and Antonio Lombardo
Century: XV°
DATE: end of the XV century POSITION: plinths of the pillars from the triumph arch METHOD: relief MATERIAL: marbleThe decorations on the base of the pillars or 'plinths' located on the sides of the altar are relief sculptures and represent hybrid marine creatures and "Amorini" or small angels.
The decoration seems to recall the Etruscan sarcophaguses, when it was thought that the passage to the afterlife was like crossing the sea, and the souls of the deceased were joined by aquatic creatures. However, it does not often happen that sculptors come into contact with this type of tradition neither directly or indirectly (for example, through drawings).
The decoration of the left plinth evokes the end of the antique and pagan idyllic world; on the contrary the plinth decoration on the right, symmetrical and dynamic, seems to represent the rebirth of the antique values in the new Christian world.
