Lorenzo Ghiberti
by Julianna Poirier
Ghiberti's Life
Lorenzo Ghiberti was born in 1378 in Pelago, Italy. He trained in the workshop of his stepfather, Bartoluccio. Ghiberti spent most of his life in Florence, Italy. In Florence, he worked as a goldsmith and a painter. Ghiberti started off as a painter, but he is known today for his sculptures. He helped form the ways of the architecture in Florence during the early renaissance. Ghiberti created many sculptures and his most famous works were the bronze doors, The Gates of Paradise, in the front of the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral. He also created three more statues for Or San Michele in Florence. Ghiberti's patrons were people who wanted to construct cathedrals and paid him to create architectural designs within them. Lorenzo Ghiberti later died on December 1st, 1455 in Florence.
Gates of Paradise
Lorenzo Ghiberti's most famous and well-known piece is his Gates of Paradise. The Gates of Paradise are two bronze doors that are located on the east entrance of the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral in Florence, Italy. Ghiberti started construction of these doors in 1425, but they weren't officially completed and installed until 1452. This piece had brought precision in the spatial and composition which Ghiberti was known for. The piece consisted of ten panels, and each frame told multiple stories regarding the Creation and reign of Solomon instead of just one. The amount of detail that is put into each panel and the doors as a whole is very interesting. Classicism is definitely the most dominant "ism" that is represented in the Gates of Paradise because of the heavy influence by the ideas of the classical past. These ideas consist of things like symmetry and great detail. These amazing bronze doors still exist in Florence and are a great example of the Brunelleschi-influenced architecture during the Renaissance.