The Evangelist Mark is a celebrated marble statue sculpted by Niccolò di Piero Lamberti between 1408 and 1415, originally placed in the second large niche to the right of the central portal of the medieval façade of the Cathedral. The work was part of a group of four Evangelists, commissioned in the early 15th century from the most important sculptors then active on the Cathedral site—Donatello, Nanni di Banco, Ciuffagni, and Lamberti himself—as part of a broader project to modernize the 14th-century façade.

When the façade was dismantled in 1587, the statue and its companions were moved to the chapels of the central tribune of the Cathedral, where they remained until 1936, the year they entered the Museum.

Lamberti took seven years to complete his St Mark, which, however, does not reach the formal quality of the statues by Nanni and Donatello, and remains stylistically tied to the late Gothic manner. Like the other Evangelists, he is depicted seated on a solemn throne, larger than life-size, and sculpted only in the front, the part visible from the niche, in such a way as to create the illusion of depth.

The Saint, author of the second canonical Gospel, is shown in the act of writing: he holds in his left hand a closed book with loosened ties—certainly his Gospel—while in his right hand, now missing, he originally held a quill. He is represented as a man of about fifty, with the features of a classical philosopher: he wears a large, antique-style cloak, sandals, and has a full, oval face framed by a thick, curly beard and thinning hair. His expression is serene, his gaze slightly uplifted.

The four Evangelists, aligned between the portals of the Cathedral, symbolically welcomed the faithful into the sacred space. However, while Donatello’s St John and Nanni’s St Luke look toward those entering, St Mark seems to turn his gaze toward the Baptistery of San Giovanni, which stood directly in front of him. A possibly intentional orientation, since the Gospel of Mark opens precisely with the account of the ministry of John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence.