Lorenzo Ghiberti
Lorenzo GhibertiLORENZO GHIBERTI
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Lorenzo Ghiberti was born as Lorenzo di Bartolo in 1378 in Florence, Italy. His
mother�s second husband, Bartolo di Michele trained Lorenzo as a goldsmith. Ghiberti
also received training as a painter. According to his autobiography, he left Florence in
1400 to work with a painter in the town of Pesaro for its ruler, Sigismondo Malatesta.
His education as a goldsmith helped him create his greatest piece of work, �The Gates of
Paradise.�
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Ghiberti�s big break came when he went back to Florence in 1401 after hearing
that a competition was being held for the commision to make a pair of bronze doors for
the Baptistery of the cathedral in Florence. He beat Filippo Brunelleschi and Jacopo dellla
Quercia, as well as four other artists, to win the commision. He spent more than 20 years
to make the doors, but during that time he trained students and also concentrated on other
artwork. His students include Donatello and Paulo Uccello. Each door contains 14
quatrefoil-framed scenes from the lives of Christ, the Evangelists, and the church fathers.
He also made another set of doors for the Baptistery. These bronze doors had 5 panels on
each side, containing scenes from the Old Testament. They were dubbed � The Gates of
Paradise,� by Michaelangelo, and were Ghiberti�s greatest work. Ghiberti also made a
larger than life statue of the Arte dei Mercani di Calimala�s(the guild of the merchant
bankers) patron saint. He made two large bronze figures for Or San Michele, created
designs for the stained glass windows in the cathedral, and wrote two books, as well as
accomplishing other things.
IMPACT AND INFLUENCE ON CIVILIZATION
Ghiberti impacted the Renaissance in many ways. His work and writings formed
the basis for much of the style and aims of the later High Renaissance. He was actively
involved with other artists and was interested in their works. He influenced and trained
artists in his workshop. Some of his students included Donatello, Paulo Uccello,
Michelozzo, and Benozzo Gozzoli. Many artist took notice to his style. His works show
a development toward naturalistic movement, volume, perspective, and a greater
idealization of the subject, which influenced artists to be creative. Ghiberti was a well
respected gentlemen, and a major figure in Florentine society. He was rich and generous
to all, and never turned away a painter or person who needed help in any sort of way.
Title: Gates of Paradise
Subject: Religous architecture; contained scenes from the Old
Testament.
RENAISSANCE CHARACTERISTICS
The �Gates of Paradise� are Lorenzo Ghiberti�s greatest piece of work. They have
10 panels, 5 on each side, depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Some scenes on the
doors are the Creation of Adam, and the Story of Joseph. The doors show a development
toward naturalistic movement, volume, and perspective, and a greater idealization of the
subject. Ghiberti uses perspective and realism in the scenes. He concentrates on evoking
skies, distant woodlands, buildings, groups of figures and personalities in high relief. This
can be seen in the scenes, the Creation of Adam, and the Story of Joseph.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) �Ghiberti, Lorenzo� Volume 9; Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1996 Lexicon Publications
2) Great Artists of the Western World; Early Renossaince,
Copyright (c) 1988, Marshall Gavandish Corporation
3) �Ghiberti, Lorenzo,� Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corp.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk and Wagnall�s Corporation
4) Julius von Schlosser, Lorenzo Ghiberti's Denkw�rdigkeiten (I Commentarii), 2
vol. (1912), the only complete printing of the text of Ghiberti's Italian, with an analysis in
German; excerpts in English translation appear in Elizabeth Gilmore Holt (ed.), A
Documentary History of Art, 2nd ed. (1957); and Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves
(eds.), Artists on Art (1945).