Lorenzo Ghiberti
Italian Sculptor (1378-1455)
Famous Baptistery Doors in Florence
Mr. Ghiberti's most remembered masterpiece would be the baptistery doors in Florence. A baptistery is a building used for baptisms. There was a contest to see who could make the best set of doors for the baptisery. It took him twenty-one years to complete these doors. He was very successful and he won.
Gates of Paradise
In 1425 he received another commission for the east doors in the Baptistery. They consisted of ten Old Testament scenes. The doors weren't installed until 1452! That's twenty-five years!
Gates of Paradise - Ghiberti
Statue of Saint John the Baptist
Statue of Saint Mathew
Statue of Saint Stephen
Commentarii
Ghiberti wrote "Commentarii" in the last years of his life. In this book. It tells us lot about all of the things he knew. There are three sections to it. He began working on it around 1447 and it wasn't finished when he died on December 1st, 1455. The first commentary talks about the relative merit of classical antiquity artists. In the second commentary, not only does it contain his autobiography, he describes the different types of art in the many cities he visited. In the third and final part of the Commentarii, it deals with analysis of the eye, the relation of sight to the behavior of light, and it's functions.