Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise Humanism, History, and Artistic Philosophy in the Italian Renaissance

This book examines the heretofore unsuspected complexity of Lorenzo Ghiberti's sculpted representations of Old Testament narratives in his Gates of Paradise (1425?52), the second set of doors he made for the Florence Baptistery and a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture. One of the most intellectually engaged and well-read artists of his age, Ghiberti found inspiration in ancient and medieval texts, many of which he and his contacts in Florence's humanist community shared, read, and discussed. He was fascinated by the science of vision, by the functioning of nature, and, above all, by the origins and history of art. These unusually well-defined intellectual interests, reflected in his famous Commentaries, shaped his approach in the Gates. Through the selection, imaginative interpretation, and arrangement of biblical episodes, Ghiberti fashioned multi-textured narratives that explore the human condition and express his ideas on a range of social, political, artistic, and philosophical issues.

1. The Adam and Eve panel: the birth of creativity; 2. The Cain and Abel panel: fashioning thought and fate; 3. The Noah panel: architecture and politics emerge; 4. The Abraham and Isaac panel: the sacrifice from the competition to the Gates of Paradise; 5. The Jacob and Esau panel: perspective, vision, and memory; 6. The Joseph panel: speech acts in the piazza; 7. The Moses panel: sculpting the drama of nature; 8. The Joshua panel: the fate of art; 9. The David panel: Ghiberti, tragedian; 10. The Solomon and Queen of Sheba panel: a portrait of Ghiberti's Florence.

Amy R. Bloch is Associate Professor of Art History at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Her research focuses on Italian Renaissance sculpture, and she has published articles and essays on Ghiberti, Donatello, Michelangelo, and on the art and ritual of baptism in Florence. Her work has been supported by fellowships and grants from the Villa I Tatti (the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies), the Renaissance Society of America, and the College Art Association.