Editing Lorenzo Ghiberti (section)

==Early life==

Ghiberti was born in 1378 in [[Pelago]], a [[comune]] 20&nbsp;km from Florence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Ghiberti and Donatello, with other early Italian sculptors|last=Scott|first=Leader|date=1882|publisher=New York|hdl = 2027/wu.89054196423}}</ref> It is said that Lorenzo was the son of Cione di Ser Buonaccorso Ghiberti and Fiore Ghiberti.<ref name=":0" /> However, there is some doubt about whether Cione was Ghiberti's actual father. At some point in their marriage, Fiore went to Florence and lived with a goldsmith by the name of [[Bartolo di Michele]].<ref name=":0" /> Fiore and Bartolo maintained a common law marriage, so it is unknown who Ghiberti's biological father was. There is no documentation of Cione's death, but it is known that after his passing Fiore and Bartolo married in 1406.<ref name=":0" /> Regardless, Bartolo was the only father Lorenzo knew and they had a close and loving relationship.<ref name=":0" /> Bartolo was a clever and popular goldsmith in Florence, and trained Lorenzo in his trade. It was from this apprenticeship that Lorenzo learned the first principles of design.<ref name=":0" />

Lorenzo was interested in many forms of art and did not confine himself to gold-working. He delighted in modeling copies of antique medals and also in painting.<ref name=":0" /> Lorenzo received formal training as a painter from [[Gherardo Starnina]].<ref name=":0" /> He then went to work in the workshop of his stepfather.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=noI5AQAAIAAJ ''Renaissance Jewels and Jeweled Objects''], Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968, p. 29: "Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) began his career under the goldsmith Bartoluccio di Michele ... Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1433-1498) was also a pupil of Bartoluccio di Michele..."</ref> When the [[bubonic plague]] struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti moved to [[Rimini]].

In Rimini he was fortunate enough to receive employment by [[Carlo I Malatesta]], where he assisted in the completion of [[fresco]]es on the walls of the castle.<ref name=":0" /> It is believed that this is where he gained his love for the art of painting.<ref name=":0" /> However, shortly after his arrival he received word from his friends back in his home town of Florence that the governors of the Baptistery were holding a competition and sending for masters who were skilled in bronze working.<ref name=":0" /> Despite his great appreciation for painting, Ghiberti asked Malatesta for leave. In 1401 he headed back to Florence to participate in a competition that was being held for the commission to make the second pair of bronze doors for the [[Florence Baptistery|Baptistery]] of the Cathedral of Florence.<ref name=":0" />

===Florence Baptistery doors===
{{Main|North Doors of the Florence Baptistery}}
{{noref section|date=February 2022}}
{{multiple image
| footer    =
| align     = right
| image1    =  Lorenzo ghiberti e aiuti, porta nord del battistero di firenze, 01.JPG
| width1    = 335
| caption1  = Ghiberti's first door from the North side of the Baptistry now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
| image2    = Florença - Portões do Paraíso (146).jpg
| width2    = 325
| caption2  = The copy of the ''Doors of Paradise'' on the East side of the Baptistry
}}

Ghiberti first became famous when as a 21-year-old he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors, with [[Brunelleschi]] as the runner up. The original plan was for the doors to depict scenes from the [[Old Testament]], but the plan was changed to depict scenes from the [[New Testament]] instead. However, the trial piece, which survives, depicts the [[Binding of Isaac|sacrifice of Isaac]].

To carry out this commission, he set up a large workshop in which many artists trained, including [[Donatello]], [[Masolino]], [[Paolo Uccello]], and [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo]]. When his first set of twenty-eight panels was complete, Ghiberti was commissioned to produce a second set for another doorway in the church, this time with scenes from the Old Testament, as originally intended for his first set. Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a completely different style. These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject. Dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by [[Michelangelo]], this second set remains a major monument of the age of [[Renaissance humanism]].

The ''Gates of Paradise'' had ten panels with several episodes from a particular story from the Old Testament portrayed on each of them. The list below shows where each story is placed on the Gates of Paradise.
[[File:Florence Baptistery Door Copy - Harris Museum.jpg|140px|thumb]]
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Doors of Paradise Panels (in order)
|-
| Adam & Eve || Cain and Abel
|-
| Noah || Abraham and Isaac
|-
| Jacob and Esau || Joseph
|-
| Moses || Joshua
|-
| David || Solomon
|}