Artist: Lorenzo Ghiberti
Date: 1336
Location: Florence, Italy
Medium: Bronze Relief
Dimensions: 2 Heidi Heads tall and 1 Heidi Head wide
Lorenzo Ghiberti was an early Renaissance Italian artist best know for works of sculpture and metalwork. He was born in 1378. His mother was married to a man named Cione Ghiberti and they lived in Pelago, Italy, near Florence. At some point in Ghiberti’s life, his mother left his father and moved to Florence. She then began to see a man named Bartolo di Michele. She lived as his common law wife until 1370 when Cione passed away. She then married Bartolo and it was he that taught Ghiberti the art of goldsmith. Bartolo was extremely talented in goldsmith and an excellent teacher. Ghiberti learned quickly and soon became better at being a goldsmith than his stepfather. However, Ghiberti found more pleasure in sculpting and painting. He would often make statues and portraits of his friends just for fun. It is documented that he received training to be a painter as well as a goldsmith. Ghiberti excelled in all he did.
In 1400, Ghiberti left Florence in order to study painting. However, in 1401 he heard of a competition that was being held in which the winner would get the commission to build two bronze doors for the Baptistery of the cathedral of Florence. He immediately returned and entered the competition. Ghiberti and 6 others were given the task to recreate the biblical scene of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac following the pattern of the first set of doors created by Andrea Pisano. Of course, Ghiberti was the winner. The task of creating the reliefs for the doors lasted for 23 years. After finishing the Bronze doors he began to create The Gates of Paradise which depicted the scenes from the Old Testament. He finished those about 20 years later. His doors replicated ancient Roman art in the way of their style. The faces of the people in the relief were strong and emotional in the same way an ancient sculpture would have been.
Although the doors were a time consuming task, they were not the only things he created during that time. Ghiberti designed stained glass windows for the cathedral, was an architectural consultant for the cathedral, and even collaborated with Brunelleschi on constructing the dome (Britanica.com). Also, in 1412 he was commissioned to make a life size statue of John the Baptist by “The Guild of Merchant Bankers.” John the Baptist was their patron saint. It was created from bronze and was the first large bronze statue in Florence. After it was completed, Ghiberti’s popularity began to grow. He was asked to make 2 bronze reliefs for a baptistery in Siena but was not able to finish them until 10 years later. He was involved in so many other pieces that he did not have enough time to work on them (Britanica.com).
In 1416, Ghiberti married a young girl named Marsilia. She bore him 2 sons: Tomasso, born in 1417 and Vittorio, born in 1418. When they were old enough they helped their father with his work. Vittorio continued on in his father’s trade long after Lorenzo passed. Ghiberti passed away on December 1st, in 1455 in Florence, Italy, leaving behind a legacy of art work. He set a standard for other artists to follow and is inspiring artists to this day.
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