In 1401, Florence held a competition to find the best artist to make a set of bronze doors for the North entrance to the Baptistery. Brunelleschi entered the competition , (he built the dome on the Duomo, remember), but he lost to Ghiberti. Laura and I looked at those doors, but they didn't seem that impressive. (We didn't even take a picture of them).
In 1425, Ghiberti was given the opportunity to create another set of doors, this time for the East entrance. (And he did not have to win a contest this time!) These doors are remarkable!!!
The big element that these doors show is DEPTH. The figures and the other items in the scenes really stand out from the surface. It's really neat to see!
There are 10 panels that show different scenes from the Bible. The panel centered on the left side of this picture shows the story of Jacob and Esau. The arches in the background help it look 3-D. The panel centered on the right side of this picture shows Joseph and Benjamin and a temple-in-the-round. Ghiberti himself (or at least his head) is located just beneath and to the right of the Jacob and Esau panel. It took him 27 years to make these doors!
Laura and the beautiful bronze doors!
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