Lorenzo Ghiberti and The Gates of Paradise.Lorenzo Ghiberti was a famous Florentine metalworker and was also trained in the gold trade by his father. Born in 1378 he won a competition for a pair of new doors for the Baptistery in Florence. The main competitors were Ghiberti, Brunelleschi and Jacopo della Quercia. Both of the trial panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi have survived. The theme was the Sacrifice of Abraham and Ghiberti's panel was technically superior with it's smooth modelling and and brilliant surface. The Brunelleschi was made in a number of pieces and linked together later, but the Ghiberti was cast in one piece. Lorenzo ran a very successful workshop and his most famous apprentices included Donatello and the Florentine painter
Paolo Uccello.
"The Sacrifice of Abraham. 1401" (W)
The doors were began in 1403 and finished in 1424 and show the great qualities of charm and grace associated with brilliant workmanship.
During the years that Ghiberti worked on the first pair of doors he also made two statues for the facade of Orsanmichele in Florence. These works are St John the Baptist, and St Matthew and have a gothic influence.
"St John the Baptist. In a continuation of his first commission Ghiberti executed a second pair of doors between 1425 and 1452. Michelangelo famously described these as the Gates of Paradise, they are divided into ten panels each containing a scene from the Old Testament.
"The Gates of Paradise." (P)
Personal Opinion:-
These are the second pair of gates, try to see them early, or late evening to avoid the crowds. They attract lots of attention and that's no surprise, they are magnificent. Donatello was Lorenzo Ghiberti's
natural successor and overtook him as the major Florentine Sculptor. Ghiberti died in his native Florence on December 1st 1455, he was seventy-seven years old.
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