Lorenzo Ghiberti (UK: , US: , Italian: [loˈrɛntso ɡiˈbɛrti]; né di Bartolo; 1378 – 1 December 1455) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery, the later one called by Michelangelo the Gates of Paradise. Trained as a goldsmith and sculptor, he established an important workshop for sculpture in metal. His book of Commentarii contains important writing on art, as well as what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist.
Ghiberti's career was dominated by his two successive commissions for pairs of bronze doors to the Florence Baptistery (Battistero di San Giovanni). They are recognized as a major masterpiece of the Early Renaissance, and were famous and influential from their unveiling.
Ghiberti was born in 1378 in Pelago, a comune 20 km from Florence. It is said that Lorenzo was the son of Cione di Ser Buonaccorso Ghiberti and Fiore Ghiberti. However, there is some doubt about whether Cione was Ghiberti's actual father. At some point in their marriage, Fiore went to Florence and lived with a goldsmith by the name of Bartolo di Michele. Fiore and Bartolo maintained a common law marriage, so it is unknown who Ghiberti's biological father was. There is no documentation of Cione's death, but it is known that after his passing, Fiore and Bartolo married in 1406. Regardless, Bartolo was the only father Lorenzo knew, and they had a close and loving relationship. Bartolo was a clever and popular goldsmith in Florence, and trained Lorenzo in his trade. It was from this apprenticeship that Lorenzo learned the first principles of design.
Lorenzo was interested in many forms of art and did not confine himself to gold-working. He delighted in modelling copies of antique medals and also in painting. Lorenzo received formal training as a painter from Gherardo Starnina. He then went to work in the workshop of his stepfather. When the bubonic plague struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti moved to Rimini.
In Rimini, he was fortunate enough to receive employment by Carlo I Malatesta, where he assisted in the completion of frescoes on the walls of the castle. It is believed that this is where he gained his love for the art of painting. However, shortly after his arrival, he received word from his friends back in his home town of Florence that the governors of the Baptistery were holding a competition and sending for masters who were skilled in bronze working. Despite his great appreciation for painting, Ghiberti asked Malatesta for leave. In 1401, he headed back to Florence to participate in a competition that was being held for the commission to make the second pair of bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Cathedral of Florence.
Ghiberti first became famous when, as a 21-year-old, he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors, with Brunelleschi as the runner-up. The original plan was for the doors to depict scenes from the Old Testament, but the plan was changed to depict scenes from the New Testament instead. However, the trial piece, which survives, depicts the sacrifice of Isaac.
To carry out this commission, he set up a large workshop in which many artists trained, including Donatello, Masolino, Paolo Uccello, and Antonio del Pollaiuolo. When his first set of twenty-eight panels was complete, Ghiberti was commissioned to produce a second set for another doorway in the church, this time with scenes from the Old Testament, as originally intended for his first set. Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a completely different style. These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject. Dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo, this second set remains a major monument of the age of Renaissance humanism.
The Gates of Paradise had ten panels with several episodes from a particular story from the Old Testament portrayed on each of them. The list below shows where each story is placed on the Gates of Paradise.
Gates of Paradise multiple descriptive panels
The Story of Adam and Eve (Panel)
In the beginning of Genesis, God created the Universe (shown on the top of the image). When he created the universe, he created “The Garden of Eden”. This is where he created the first humans, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are eating an apple from the forbidden tree. Eve was tricked by Lucifer, God's fallen angel, who took the form of a serpent. Lucifer told Eve she would be like God if she ate the forbidden fruit (shown on left middle side). Lucifer, God's most beautiful angel, became a fallen angel and the devil (shown on the bottom left).
The Story of Cain and Abel (Panel)
Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam, the first man. Abel was younger than Cain. Cain was enraged because God preferred Abel's sacrifice over his (shown at the top of the photograph). Abel was known to be peaceful and was sitting calmly with the herd (shown on the middle left side). Cain tricked Abel to follow him and murders him (shown on the bottom).
God did not like that the world was full of violence. He told Noah he was going to destroy the earth with a flood, and that Noah needed to build an Ark (shown by the waves in the photograph). He was told to bring two of each kind of animal and his family (shown on the left, right, and in the middle area). Moses is lying next to a barrel, signifying the drunks (shown on the bottom left).Moses is also offering a sacrifice (shown on the bottom right).
Three men came to Abraham. He clothed them, fed them, and gave them drinks. The three men were angels, and they revealed themselves as messengers of God (shown at the bottom left). They told him that his wife, Sarah, who was 80 years old, would bear a child. Once they had the child, named Isaac, God ordered Abraham to sacrifice him, but Abraham was ordered to stop by an angel (shown at the top).
Isaac was the son of Abraham. He was going to be sacrificed before an angel stopped Abraham from doing so. Jacob, Isaac's son, is receiving Issac's blessing (shown on the right). Rebecca, Isaac's wife, is listening to God tell her of her two sons who will have conflicts (shown on the rooftop).
Joseph's father was Jacob, and they lived in Canaan. Joseph was the second youngest of 11 brothers, and his father spent more time with him. Jacob had given Joseph a special multi-colored robe, which his brothers became envious of. Joseph had two dreams he told his brothers about; one where they were all killing him, and the other where they were all bowing to him. They were enraged and were planning on killing him, but they sold him to slavery. Now owned by Egypt (shown at the bottom right), Joseph was imprisoned, and he told people the meaning of their dreams. The Pharaoh sought out Joseph to explain his dream. The Pharaoh told Joseph of his dreams of his city becoming low in food resources. Joseph suggested putting food aside each year for the upcoming low harvest (shown with people having plentiful food).
Moses was hidden by his birth mother in a basket in the Nile River. The Pharaoh's daughter spotted Moses and took him from the basket (shown on the left with the river and people). Moses became a child of the Pharaoh of Egypt. He was born an Israelite, and his people were enslaved by the people of Egypt. The ten plagues hit Egypt, and people are shown to be frightened (shown by the people on the right). Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to cross the Red Sea (shown on the right, people rejoicing). Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai (shown at the top).