Transitions in Tuscan Sculpture and Florentine Painting

Question 1

Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti

Answer 1

1425-52 in Florence

• Commissioned by the Wool Guild of Florence
• The doors are located on the Florence Baptistery and are on the east side
• Ghiberti’s figure of Isaac in the Sacrifice of Isaac is the first truly ideal Renaissance nude; here naturalism and classicism is blended by a new vision of what a human being can be
• Ghiberti also created another set of bronze doors on the north side of the baptistery

Starting in 1447, Ghiberti wrote an unfinished text called the Commentaries and it deals with the relative merits of artists from classical antiquity

Question 2

David by Donatello

Answer 2

1408-09 in Florence

• One of the two statues of King David by Donatello
• This statue of David is made of marble while the other is made of bronze
• The statue was designed as an exterior support for the Cathedral of Florence
• Commissioned by the Opera del Duomo
• There is an inscription on the statue that say, “To those who bravely fight for the fatherland, the gods will lend aid even against the most terrible foes.”

Question 3

St. George by Donatello

Answer 3

1420 in Florence

• Made for the Orsanmichele Church in Florence
• Commissioned by the Armor and Swords Guild
• St. George was the patron saint of the Armor and Swords Guild
• The statue depicts a nervous St. George and this narrative is continued in St. George and the Dragon where it tells the story of George slaying a dragon
• St. George and the Dragon uses Donatello’s technique of flattened relief and incorporates Brunelleschi’s linear perspective

Question 4

Brancacci Chapel by Masaccio and Masolino

Answer 4

1427 in Florence

• The chapel is located inside the Carmelite Church of Santa Maria del Carmine
• The frescoes were commissioned by Pietro Brancacci
• Most of the frescoes, except for two, depict scenes from the life of St. Peter like Tribute Money. It the tells the story of St. Peter being confronted by a Roman tax collector. He finds the money in the mouth of a fish and pays the collector.
• Masolino and Masaccio each painted their own frescoes focusing on Adam and Eve. Masolino painted Temptation which depicts Eve being confronted by the serpent and Masaccio painted Expulsion which depicts the two being kicked out of Eden
• Filippino Lippi finished the frescoes in the 1480s plus he worked on some of the figures in the Enthonement of St. Peter

Question 5

Trinity by Masaccio

Answer 5

1425 in Florence

• Made for the Santa Maria Novella Church
• The painting incorporates Brunneleschi’s linear perspective
• At the bottom is a momento mori and above it is an inscription: “I was once what you are, and what I am, you also will be.”
• The crucifixion in this painting is a patiens crucifixion which depicts Christ’s suffering on the cross
• Unlike most paintings, Mary is not looking at her son but the audience to urge them to think about Christ’s death