On the cornice at its base is in the middle a small Pietà, flanked by two angels, while on the four corners stand the four Evangelists in oriental dress. The lower part of the superstructure is surrounded by free-standing figures: the Patron Saints of Bologna (Saint Francis of Assisi), San Petronio (began by Niccolò but finished by young Michelangelo in 1494), Saint Dominic and Saint Florian. On the back stand St Anne, St John the Baptist (sculpted by Girolamo Cortellini in 1539), San Procolo and San Vitale. Niccolò also added the Candlestick-holding Angel on the left side of the altar slab (the one on the right side is by Michelangelo). Niccolò dell’Arca worked on this masterpiece between 1469 and 1473, leaving it unfinished. He probably continued intermittently at it until his death. Art critics see in this masterpiece a blend of influences: Burgundian, Florentine and non-Tuscan (such as details in clothing). The way these statuettes express their emotions and the patterns in their dresses and hair evoke the style of Jacopo della Quercia. Some other important works include the terracotta bust of Saint Dominic (1474) (in the museum of the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna), a marble statue of St. John the Baptist (in the Escorial in Madrid) and the terracotta figure of Saint Monica (c. 1478-1480) (Museum Palace in Modena). Also notable is the terracotta high relief of Madonna di Piazza (1478) on the wall of the Palazzo Comunale in Bologna. In the marked drapery folds is seen the influence of Jacopo della Quercia and also traces of the dynamic naturalism of his contemporary Andrea del Verrocchio. References Italian Renaissance sculptors 15th-century births 1494 deaths People from Apulia 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Catholic sculptors