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St John the Evangelist
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, born 1378 - died 1455 - Enlarge image
St John the Evangelist
- Object:
Plaster cast
- Place of origin:
Florence (city) (sculpted)
Florence (city) (cast) - Date:
1403-1424 (sculpted)
ca. 1882 (cast) - Artist/Maker:
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, born 1378 - died 1455 (sculptor)
Lelli, Oronzio (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Plaster cast
- Museum number:
REPRO.1882-21
- Gallery location:
Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court , case WS
Physical description
Plaster cast of a panel depicting St. John the Evangelist, after the gilt bronze original, on the door of the Baptistry of S. Giovanni, Florence.
Place of Origin
Florence (city) (sculpted)
Florence (city) (cast)
Date
1403-1424 (sculpted)
ca. 1882 (cast)
Artist/maker
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, born 1378 - died 1455 (sculptor)
Lelli, Oronzio (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Plaster cast
Dimensions
Height: 61.5 cm, Width: 51 cm
Object history note
Purchased from Oronzio Lelli in 1882 for £2 1s 8d
Historical context note
In 1401, the Arte dei Mercantanti di Calimala (the guild of the merchants dealing in foreign cloth and exporting cloth) decided to commission a second bronze door for the Baptistry of Florence, to accompany the door completed by Andrea Pisano (about 1295-1348/9) in 1336. A competition was held for which seven entrants submitted trial reliefs of The Sacrifice of Isaac. Lorenzo Giberti's entry was chosen in preference to that of his nearest rival, Filippo Brunelleschi. On 23 November 1403, the contract for the door was allotted to Ghiberti and his father, Bartolo di Michele, and the door was executed between 1403 and 1424. The format was intended to harmonize with that of the earlier door, comprising a similar scheme of twenty-eight panels, each containing a quatre-foil. The twenty upper reliefs containing scenes from the New Testament, and the eight lower panels containing single figures of the Evangelists and Church Fathers, complement Andrea Pisano's scheme of twenty scenes from the life of St John the Baptist above eight figures of Virtues. Ghiberti slightly altered the proportions of the panels, and replaced Andrea Pisano's dividing lattice of studs and rosettes with a rich foliate ornament. On Easter Sunday (19 April) 1424, the doors were set up at the East entrance to the Baptistry, facing the Cathedral. In 1452, they were moved to their present location, the North Entrance, when they were supplanted by Ghiberti's second bronze door, the Gates of Paradise.
Descriptive line
19th century plaster cast of panel of St John the Evangelist, on the door of the Baptistry of S. Giovanni, Florence, Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1403-24, cast by Oronzio Lelli, ca. 1882
Categories
Ph_survey; Architecture; Sculpture; Christianity; Religion
Collection
Sculpture Collection
