Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi are the two most important sparks of the Florentine Renaissance.
Ghiberti was the bridge between the Gothic and the Renaissance. His sculptural technique involved a new level of intricacy and detailed with a level of realism and emotional depth that had not been seen before.
I hope you'll agree they are quite moving. I can only imagine how powerful they were in the 15th century. It also explains why they became so popular.
Below are two beautiful sculptures that I want to share from 2 different museums. đ
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Madonna and Child by the Circle of Lorenzo Ghiberti
A beautiful sculpture & important to art history.
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| E.g. from V&A London. |
It depicts the Madonna and Child.
It’s one of a number of 30-40 surviving variants based on the characteristics of the Florentine bronze sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti.
He is one of the forefathers of the Italian renaissance - renowned for his bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery.
The mother’s serene face, the adoring arrangement of mother-and-son, and the baby Christ’s pose (by her shoulder) are characteristic of Ghiberti’s style. See e.g.
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Seated Virgin and Child by the Circle of Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello (~ 1415)
A loving & graceful embrace, and yet with a pensive sadness.
The mother seems slightly lost in her melancholy, as her son wraps his arms around her. Her fingers seem to reach around to lift him closer to her. đ
This terracotta from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
No wonder Ghiberti was so influential.
According to the museum, it is close to the style of Ghiberti’s workshop, where the young Donatello worked in.
Those are indeed lovely madonnas. When I was in Florence, I saw Ghiberti's famous bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery or, more accurately, I should say I saw the reproduction copies of the doors on the Baptistry instead, because the priceless originals are kept in a museum, of course..
ReplyDeleteYour description truly captures both the tender humanity and the timeless influence of Ghiberti’s work
ReplyDeleteThey do look good.
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful images.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a lovely Sunday.
Greetings Irma
Her arms and hands in the second sculpture seem rather out of proportion (too large) but they're wonderful sculptures.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteLovely post and beautiful sculptures. Take care, Happy Sunday! Have a great week ahead.
These works beautifully highlight Ghiberti’s ability to blend tenderness with realism. The subtle emotional depth in the mother-and-child poses shows why his style resonated so powerfully in the early Renaissance and influenced artists like Donatello.
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