Lorenzo Ghiberti
Lorenzo Ghiberti was born in 1378 in Pelago, a small town located twenty kilometers from Florence. His parentage remains uncertain because his mother Fiore lived with a goldsmith named Bartolo di Michele after leaving her husband Cione. Historical records show no documentation of Cione's death, yet the marriage between Fiore and Bartolo occurred in 1406. Bartolo became the only father Lorenzo ever knew, establishing a close and loving relationship that shaped his future career. This stepfather trained Lorenzo in the trade of goldsmithing while also teaching him design principles. The young artist did not limit himself to metalwork but delighted in modeling copies of antique medals and painting. He received formal training as a painter from Gherardo Starnina before joining his stepfather's workshop. When the bubonic plague struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti moved to Rimini where he worked for Carlo I Malatesta. There he assisted in completing frescoes on castle walls, which is believed to have sparked his deep love for painting.
In 1401, the Arte di Calimala guild announced a competition to design bronze doors for the north side of the Baptistery. Each participant received four brass tables and had one year to create a relief depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac. Seven semifinalists were selected including Filippo Brunelleschi and Simone da Colle. By 1402 only Ghiberti and Brunelleschi remained as finalists when judges could not decide between them. They were assigned to work together until Brunelleschi left Rome to study architecture. Ghiberti claimed in his autobiography that he won without dissenting voices. His panel used hollowed-out figures cast as single pieces except for Isaac, making it stronger and lighter than Brunelleschi's construction. The final decision favored efficiency since Ghiberti's method used less bronze while maintaining structural integrity. The original designs now hang in the museum of the Bargello in Florence. Bartolo di Michele helped perfect the door design before casting began. This commission brought immediate recognition to the twenty-one-year-old artist who would soon dominate Florentine sculpture.
Ghiberti spent twenty-one years creating the first set of bronze doors for the Baptistery. He established a large workshop near the Hospital of Saint Maria Nuova called the Aja or Threshing floor. The studio contained a massive furnace where he melted metal to cast the panels. His first model failed but the second attempt succeeded using thirty-four thousand pounds of bronze costing twenty-two thousand ducats. The completed doors consisted of twenty-eight gilded bronze panels depicting scenes from the New Testament. Twenty panels showed the life of Christ including the Annunciation, Nativity, and Last Supper. Eight lower panels featured four evangelists and Church Fathers like Saint Ambrose and Saint Jerome. On the 19th of April 1424 these doors were installed on the east side of the Baptistery. Art historian Antonio Paolucci described this as the most important event in Florentine art during the first quarter of the fifteenth century. Later they moved to the north side after Ghiberti finished his second commission. Some known mistakes exist such as panel fifteen where a flagellator appears trapped behind stone due to casting errors. Despite these flaws the overall quality remains exquisite with intricate details throughout.
In 1425 Ghiberti received a second commission for the east doors which would take twenty-seven years to complete. Leonardo Bruni d'Arezzo selected subjects from the Old Testament for ten large rectangular panels. These replaced traditional Gothic quatrefoil shapes with perspective techniques recently discovered by artists. Each panel depicted multiple episodes within a single composition using rilievo schiacciato or flattened relief. The Story of Joseph shows seven distinct events from being cast into a well to returning home to Egypt. Michelangelo later called these doors the Gates of Paradise because he found them fit for heaven's entrance. Giorgio Vasari described them a century later as undeniably perfect masterpieces created in any age. Ghiberti himself stated they were the most singular work he ever made. The richly decorated framework includes foliage, fruit, and twenty-four busts of prophets. Two central busts are portraits of the artist and his father Bartolomeo. Panels like Christ Among the Doctors show scholars discussing intensely around a child seated on a throne-like chair. The Temptation of Christ features Satan standing upon rocks with bat-like wings while surrounded by angels. Every detail from individualized armor to flowing river water demonstrates technical mastery.
Between 1412 and 1416 Ghiberti sculpted Saint John the Baptist for the Arte di Calimala guild niche at Orsanmichele. This eight-foot four-inch bronze statue represented a technological advance for its time requiring incredible casting skill. The figure showed elegant curves influenced by Gothic style Italy through sword handles and drapery folds. In 1419 he began work on Saint Matthew for the bankers guild Arte del Cambio. This eight-foot ten-inch statue reached greater height than the previous John the Baptist piece. Both statues occupied niches along the exterior walls of the church building. The wool merchants guild commissioned the first while bankers requested the second. Ghiberti's ability to bond such large bronze figures demonstrated unprecedented control over molten metal. These works established him as a master sculptor beyond door panels alone. Later additions included Saint Stephen for the Wool Manufacturers Guild though details remain less documented compared to earlier commissions.
Ghiberti wrote unfinished memoirs called Commentarii which contain what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist. He discussed art development from Cimabue through his own lifetime within these volumes. Describing his second portal he stated: "In this work I sought to imitate nature as closely possible, both in proportions and perspective." His language proved invaluable to historians understanding Renaissance artistic aims. Paolo Uccello worked in his workshop making it difficult to determine how much perspective innovation came directly from instruction. Donatello also spent time there before beginning his lifelong friendship with Uccello. Recent scholarship suggests Ghiberti was influenced by Arab polymath Alhazen who wrote about optical basis of perspective in the eleventh century. Alhazen's Book of Optics translated into Italian as Deli Aspecti appeared quoted at length in Ghiberti's third commentary volume. Author A. Mark Smith believes this text may have been central to developing artificial perspective in early Renaissance painting. Vasari used these writings extensively when composing his famous biographies of artists decades later.
By 1417 Lorenzo married Marsila, a sixteen-year-old daughter of Bartolommeo di Lucca who made combs professionally. They had two sons named Tommaso born in 1417 and Vittorio arriving one year later. A surviving tax return from 1427 showed he owned considerable land inside Florence and outside the city limits. He held substantial money invested in government bonds alongside growing real estate holdings. At age seventy-five he succumbed to an unknown fever on the 1st of December 1455. His body was buried in the Basilica di Santa Croce where his son Vittorio joined him years later. Vittorio followed his father as goldsmith and bronze-caster but never achieved similar fame. He produced artillery pieces like cannonballs supplying wars between Sarzana and Pisa. Their shared gravestone honors both men with inscriptions mentioning Battistero doors design and ornamental work on Andrea da Pisa's panels. Tommaso collaborated briefly before disappearing from documents after 1447 without clear continuation of business operations. Ghiberti died leaving behind a workshop that continued producing art under family supervision for generations.
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Common questions
When and where was Lorenzo Ghiberti born?
Lorenzo Ghiberti was born in 1378 in Pelago, a small town located twenty kilometers from Florence. His parentage remains uncertain because his mother Fiore lived with a goldsmith named Bartolo di Michele after leaving her husband Cione.
What competition did Lorenzo Ghiberti win in 1401?
In 1401 the Arte di Calimala guild announced a competition to design bronze doors for the north side of the Baptistery. Seven semifinalists were selected including Filippo Brunelleschi and Simone da Colle before only Ghiberti and Brunelleschi remained as finalists by 1402.
How many years did it take to complete the first set of bronze doors for the Baptistery?
Ghiberti spent twenty-one years creating the first set of bronze doors for the Baptistery. The completed doors consisted of twenty-eight gilded bronze panels depicting scenes from the New Testament and were installed on the east side of the Baptistery on the 19th of April 1424.
Why are the second doors called the Gates of Paradise?
Michelangelo later called these doors the Gates of Paradise because he found them fit for heaven's entrance. Giorgio Vasari described them a century later as undeniably perfect masterpieces created in any age while Ghiberti himself stated they were the most singular work he ever made.
When did Lorenzo Ghiberti die and where was he buried?
At age seventy-five he succumbed to an unknown fever on the 1st of December 1455. His body was buried in the Basilica di Santa Croce where his son Vittorio joined him years later.