Esculturas de lorenzo ghiberti biography

Biography of Lorenzo Ghiberti

Lorenzo Ghiberti was an Italian sculptor, jeweler, and art historian of the Early Renaissance. He was born in Florence and became one of the greatest masters of relief sculpture. Ghiberti dedicated himself to sculpture after winning a competition in 1401 for the best relief design for the new bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery. The bronze doors, both the northern doors (1403-1424) and the eastern doors (1425-1452), became the main focus and most significant works of Ghiberti's life. The eastern doors were so magnificent that Michelangelo commented, "They are so beautiful that they would be suitable for the gates of paradise," which is why they are often referred to as the "Gates of Paradise." A bronze copy of these doors, created by the sculptor V.P. Ekimov, is now installed on the north side of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Ghiberti held a prominent position in the artistic life of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. Many artists of the time, such as sculptors Donatello and Michelozzo, and painter Paolo Uccello, trained and worked in his workshop. After 1430, Ghiberti developed a growing interest in ancient art, studying and collecting ancient artifacts. He became close to humanists and became fascinated with the theoretical problems of art. In 1445, Ghiberti, known as one of the most educated individuals of his time, began working on his "Commentaries." He wrote three volumes, although none were completed. The first volume, dedicated to the history of ancient art, was considered a failure. The third volume, however, became significant as one of the first works related to the visual arts that included information on perspective theory, based on the treatises of Ibn al-Haytham and Vitello. The second volume, written between 1447 and 1448, focused on the history of Italian art and concluded with a detailed autobiography of Ghiberti, making it the first known autobiography of a Renaissance artist. This second volume became an important source for Vasari's "Lives of the Artists."

Ghiberti began his journey in the field of art at Bartoluccio's workshop, where he acquired the basics of his profession. In 1401, the Guild of Arte di Calimala announced a competition to choose the author of a new pair of Bronze Doors for the Florence Baptistery. The competition required participants to submit bronze reliefs depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac for evaluation. The finalists of the competition were Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi. After lengthy discussions, Ghiberti's more economical method of using bronze and his more lyrical style secured him the victory. He then began working on his second pair of bronze doors (the first in his career, as there were already doors in the Baptistery created by Andrea Pisano). The work took him 21 years and consisted of 28 reliefs, with 20 depicting scenes from the life of Christ in the New Testament, while the lower registers depicted scenes from the lives of the four evangelists and church fathers.

In 1424, Ghiberti made a trip to Venice, and upon his return, he started designing the third pair of bronze doors, installed in the eastern entrance of the Baptistery. He dedicated 27 years of his life to this project. The doors included 10 reliefs depicting scenes from the Old Testament. After working with Donatello in Siena, Ghiberti was influenced by his talent for incorporating perspective and the technique of smooth relief. Ghiberti's new reliefs featured more complex compositions of architecture and figures. Unlike the previous doors created by Andrea Pisano, Ghiberti chose a square format to increase complexity and visual richness. Michelangelo later referred to them as the "Gates of Paradise." During the flooding of Florence in 1966, five out of the ten panels were detached. They were later restored using exact replicas from San Francisco, and in 1990, to prevent further damage, the panels were replaced with precise copies. During these years, Ghiberti also worked on statues for the Orsanmichele church, including Saint Matthew, Saint Stephen, and St. John the Baptist.

Starting in 1445, Ghiberti worked on his autobiographical text, known as the "Commentaries." In honor of his contributions, a crater on Mercury was named after Ghiberti.