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EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE: INTRODUCTION, MEDICI, BAPTISTRY GATES
THE EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
THE QUATTROCENTO (1400’S)
INTRODUCTION, MEDICI, BAPTISTRY GATES
I. INTRODUCING FLORENCE
A. A City of Flowers on the banks of the Arno River (Gardner 574)
B. Prosperity
1. Textiles especially wool
2. Banking
C. Humanism
1. Italian elites embraced tenets of humanism
2. Based on writings of Greeks and Romans
3. Literature based on local dialect (Tuscan) expanded audience for
humanism
4. Movable type increased book production and literacy.
5. Fostered belief in individual potential
i. Encouraged individual achievement and civic responsibility
ii. Hard work became a moral imperative
iii. Excellence was rewarded with fame and honor.
D. The Medici Family
1. The dominant Florentine banking family of the 15th century and the
de facto rulers of Florence
2. The Medici
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Supported the humanists
Collected ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, coins, and
artifacts and gave artists access to their collection
Major patrons of early Renaissance artists and sculptors
3. Key members of the Medici Family included
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Cosimo the Elder
Piero the Gouty
Lorenzo the Magnificent
E. Art and Power
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EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE: INTRODUCTION, MEDICI, BAPTISTRY GATES
1. The Medici and other Renaissance patrons understood the power of
IMAGERY and used it to extend their fame and influence. (Essay tieins: power, propaganda, patronage)
2. Courts throughout Italy were thriving centers of artistic activity and
vied with each other for prominent humanist writers, architects, and
artists.
II. THE COMBATTIMENTO (COMPETITION)
A. The Baptistery (See Gardner Figure 17-26)
1. Beautiful octagonal shaped building
2. Already had a pair of doors made during the 14th century: one set by
Andrea Pisano
3. Needs a new pair of doors for the eastern entrance
B. The Contest
1. How is it typical of Renaissance art?
a. Patronage as civic imperative
b. Patronage as a form of self-promotion
c. Esteem accorded to individual artists
d. Development of new pictorial illusionism
2. Sponsored by the wool refiners guild
3. Judged by clerics, artists, and business leaders
4. Sample to determine the winner
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The subject chosen for the competition was the sacrifice of Isaac.
According to the Old Testament account (Genesis 22), God
commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as an act of
obedience. When God saw that Abraham was about to sacrifice
Isaac, he sent an angel to stop Abraham and provided a ram
caught in a thicket as an alternative sacrifice.
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son is used as a
metaphor for God’s willingness to sacrifice his only son Jesus.
C. The Contestants
1. 7 leading artists
2. 2 young prodigies
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Lorenzo Ghiberti (1381 – 1455)
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446)
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EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE: INTRODUCTION, MEDICI, BAPTISTRY GATES
3. Let’s look at the samples
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See Gardner Figures 21-2 and 21-3
You be the judge.
4. And the winner was Ghiberti: “I had surpassed everyone.”
5. Brunelleschi was very disappointed and left Florence for Rome. This
fateful journey would prove to be very important to the Renaissance
because of discoveries Brunelleschi would make in Rome. Also
travelling with Brunelleschi was the sculptor Donatello.
D. 2003 Exam sample question
1. For what purpose did Ghiberti design this panel? Which aspects
of the work are Gothic and which aspects reflect Renaissance
innovations?
 Purpose – to win a contest in which the prize was a commission
to design a new set of doors for the Baptistery in Florence.
2. Gothic characteristics –
 Trefoil frame
 Look at the figure of Abraham. Does it remind you of any
Gothic figures we have studied?
 Abraham is in the familiar Gothic S-curve pose like the Virgin
of Paris (G-498) and Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreux (G-505)
3. Renaissance characteristics –
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Isaac is depicted as a heroic nude figure like a classical statue
The altar under Isaac resembles a Roman altar or sarcophagus
Interest in naturalism and the illusion of depth – The body of
the angel is foreshortened to create the illusion that it is flying
in from the background
4. Ghiberti created a set of doors for the Florence Baptistery of the
Cathedral of San Giovanni. They were so good that the
Florentines used the doors to replace doors on the other side of the
Baptistery and commissioned Ghiberti to do another set of doors
E. GATES OF PARADISE
1. Struck by the beauty of the scenes, Michelangelo, a Florentine, said
that Ghiberti’s doors were worthy to serve as the Gates of Paradise
(Heaven)
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EARLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE: INTRODUCTION, MEDICI, BAPTISTRY GATES
2. 10 squares contain ten reliefs illustrating stories from the Old
Testament
3. There are also 48 figures of prophets and other biblical characters
surrounding the 10 scenes
4. Take a close look at the third figure from the bottom. It is not a
prophet or biblical figure. It is Ghiberti’s self portrait!
5. The doors were caste in bronze and gilded with gold.
6. The scenes are renowned for their naturalism and dramatic narrative.
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The figures resemble Classical statues in the proportions.
Ghiberti created the illusion of a three dimensions by varying the
level of relief. Figures in the foreground extend in very high relief
while objects in the distance appear just as incised lines.
Ghiberti used the Medieval storytelling technique of
CONTINUOUS NARRATION by showing several smaller scenes
in each panel.
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