Renaissance Template: Competition and Patronage

Roy King

February 21, 2022

Word Count: 2339

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Throughout history, artists have looked to the works of those who came before them for

inspiration. Nowhere is this more true than the Renaissance, the “rebirth” of European art created

in the image of Greco-Roman antiquity. The Renaissance adds a new flavor to this idea of

retrospective inspiration in that it applies the principles of antiquity within another context. That

context, in the case of the renaissance, is Christianity. Many of the principles of Christianity run

counter to the values of classic Greek and Roman culture. In the renaissance popes

commissioned sodomizers to create scenes from old testament stories. The renaissance embodies

a struggle to reconcile these conflicting values throughout post-medieval European society as

well as conflicts between the Greek and Roman cultural influences and the Christian scenes

whose creation they inspired. However, despite many of the social problems created by this

dichotomy, these influences allowed for the creation of amazing secular and non-secular pieces.

The obvious explanation that must be provided is why so much religious art was created if the

subject matter of that art flew in the face of many of the values of the cultures whose art

influenced the artists of the time. The explanation for this comes in the form of patronage. Artists

were being paid to create art predominantly by either religious figures or wealthy families who

wished to display their piety. As a result, many of the commissioners requested art that at least

had religious undertones if not outright telling a religious narrative. Another thing that these

patrons did was create competitions. One of these such competitions produced a piece that would

define the early renaissance, the Sacrifice of Isaac panel from the North doors of the Florence

Baptistry. Through a close analysis of the form, function, content, context, and a cross-cultural

comparison the way that this piece exemplifies all aspects of the renaissance as a whole and the

early renaissance in particular.

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The first primary way of analyzing the Sacrifice of Isaac panel is through a study of its

context, the situation surrounding its creation. The Florence Baptistry is a colossal stone bastion

in the center of the city. Although the building itself was constructed in the 11th-century

additions were made throughout the following centuries. One of these additions was the colossal

decorated wooden doors on the north side of the building. These doors were decorated with large

gilt bronze reliefs depicting various scenes from the Bible. The artist of these doors was chosen

through a competition sponsored by the Arte di Calimala (wealthy cloth merchants). The contest

involved depicting the binding of Isaac from the book of Genesis using a specified amount of

cast bronze. There were rules about the dimensions as well but, aside from that, the artists were

free to make whatever stylistic and compositional choices they desired (Arora, 1). There were a

few competitors but the two most famous were Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi.

Brunelleschi opted to split his metal up into three sections and cast the pieces separately and then

reattach them. Ghiberti on the other hand opted to cast the whole image from one piece. The
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judges felt that Brunelleschi's attempts had not been a success, the piece had too much dead

space and the figures did not seem to fit together in the same scene. As a result, they chose

Ghiberti’s design over Brunelleschi's. This was not the end of Brunelleschi who would go on to

have an illustrious career as a painter but this would be his last major piece of sculpture. After

Ghiberti won the competition he was chosen to create 38 individual panels that would cover the

north and east doors of the baptistry. In these pieces, he would combine Greek cannon with

stories from the history of

Christianity to create beautiful

bronze depictions of these various

events. These pieces would be

created at the very beginning of the

15th century and would come to be

accepted as one of the key starting

points for the Italian renaissance.

The use of the Greek canon and law

of proportions in conjunction with

these religious scenes developed a

beautiful and powerful

representation of the given story

(Lowenthal, 1). The emotional story

that is the Sacrifice of Isaac can truly

only be accurately told in an image

that uses naturalistic forms. The story lends itself to the renaissance principle of using art to
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capture a moment in time. Ghiberti is able to use verisimilitude within his depiction because the

story within this scene can be told with a snapshot. This context of this piece is what makes its

application of Greco-Roman artistic principles possible.

The second primary lens through which to view the Sacrifice of Isaac panels is their form,

what they are made of and how they are made. These objects were made using a multi-step

process. First, a two-dimensional design was made, from that, a three-dimensional form was

extrapolated. At this point, the three-dimensional form, typically made from wax or wood, would

be pressed into sand or another similar material. At this point, the molten material, in this case,

bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, would be poured into the indentation and allowed to harden.

Once this had been completed and the material had solidified the cast was removed and the

imperfections were corrected. Once this had been done the object would be gilded. This process

was very dangerous and very expensive. It involved mixing the gold powder into mercury, liquid

at room temperature, and pouring the mixture over the bronze. Once the bronze piece had been

covered in gold and mercury the whole piece would be heated. The process of heating would

evaporate the mercury leaving a thin layer of gold behind. This would be repeated multiple times

until the requisite amount of gold had been applied. The evaporation process was very dangerous

because the mercury fumes were extremely toxic and there was not a reliable way to prevent

inhalation. However, despite the risk and the great expense, the end result was dazzling (Apley,

1). These techniques were used to create the images on the doors of the Florence Baptistry. These

characteristics also contain specific visual formal elements. Most clearly is the way that depth is

portrayed within the relief carving. This is not a very high relief carving but depth is shown in

one particular spot. Above the altar, there is an angel. This depiction makes a clear effort to

employ foreshortening. The angel appears to be flying out of the figure while still being on the
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same level as all of the other figures. This type of foreshortening had not been seen in

two-dimensional art or sculpture since Greek and Roman times. In addition, the artist

demonstrates a clear understanding of proportion and naturalism within the human form. Take

for example Isaac, who kneels upon the altar, he clearly demonstrates a presence within the

piece. The way he slumps to his right as he turns to look pleadingly at his father makes the piece

come alive. The proportions of all of the characters represent at least an adequate understanding

of the anatomy of the human body. All of the characters seem to have a natural presence in the

way they interact with the other figures, the landscape, and even their clothing. All of these

formal elements represent a revival of classic art styles and techniques from the Greeks and the

Romans.

Successionally, an analysis of the content of the piece can provide an insight into the

piece as a whole. Content represents a continuation of the topic of form and encompasses what

all of the formal elements are used to create within the piece. Ghiberti combines all of the

elements that have been mentioned to create a poignant representation of the Sacrifice of Isaac.

The story goes that Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son to prove his faith in and

devotion to the lord. As Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac he is told by the lord not to

kill the boy. The lord presents another offering in the form of a Ram with its horn caught in a

thornbush. This story represents two key principles within Christianity, those principles being:

faith and mercy. This is a powerful and emotionally charged story and Ghiberti uses every tool

available to him to make that clear through his sculpture (Harris, Zucker, 1). This represents all

of the elements of the story in one snapshot except for the bottom left corner. The bottom left

depicts Abraham telling Isaac that he will be sacrificed, the emotion of this scene is clearly

shown with Abraham grasping Isaac’s sleeve and Isaac looking back at his father with a face of
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dismay. The rest of the piece shows the story as a whole. In the bottom right, Abraham is shown

with Isaac kneeling on the altar and looking emotionally back towards his father. Abraham looks

down at his son with a face of determination in the midst of grief. Above father and son is the

angel rushing to tell Abraham not to sacrifice his son. The final part of the story is shown in the

top left of the piece in the form of a goat contorting with its head stuck in a bush. This piece

combines all of the elements of a somewhat complicated story within one composition in a way

that is cohesive and impactful.

Another way that this piece can be analyzed is through an investigation of its function.

This piece was created for two main reasons. The first reason is somewhat superficial but the

other one has more nuance. The first reason is to serve as a decoration of the Baptistry. This

building was one of the most important places in Florence with some of the greatest Florentine

people being baptized within its walls. These towering doors accentuated the power of the

Catholic church within the city of Florence and the devotion of the Florentin people to the

Church. The second reason is somewhat of an extension of the first. These doors were

commissioned by wealthy cloth merchants as an indulgence. Indulgences were a type of offering

that could be given to aid the church in exchange for partial or even complete remission of one’s

sins. Many of these large decoration projects were part of an indulgence on the part of the

patrons. These wealthy cloth merchants saw the funding of a project like the baptistry doors as a

way of making up for their misdeeds in the eyes of God (Arora, 2). This practice was very

common and wouldn't be challenged on any sizable scale until the protestant reformation of the

1500s. These doors were seen as a votive offering to the Catholic church. They would help the

populus as a whole remember the church and hopefully protect the cloth merchants from

retribution for their sins. The function is important because it provides an explanation for the
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creation of these pieces within their context. It was important to the patrons that these

decorations be the best money could buy because they represented a ticket out of damnation.

Without a personal religious imperative there would be no reason for a competition, the

decorators would have taken the lowest bidder. Likely in fact, these decoration projects would

never have taken place in the first place. An understanding of the function of these pieces as

indulgences sets the stage for an understanding of all the other aspects that make them a

cornerstone of the development of the renaissance.

The final way this piece can be discussed is through cross-cultural comparison. The most

interesting cross-cultural comparisons involve comparing pieces that had very similar functions

within societies that are very different from each other. One such comparison can be made

between the Sacrifice of Isaac panel and the Winged Lamassu from the Citadel of Sargon II.

These are very different pieces with one being a small decorative panel within a door and the

other being a colossal piece of monolithic gypsum carved in the shape of a mythological

creature. However, their function and their employment within their respective structures are

similar. The Lamassu was placed at the entrance to the citadel and would tower over visitors to

the king as they entered the inner walls of the city. Just towering doors of the Baptistry leave

people entering the Baptistry awestruck. However, the most interesting similarity comes through
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a comparison of the content of the two pieces. The Lamassu is a colossal man-bull-eagle creature

that represents an important part of Neo-Assyrian culture just as the story of the sacrifice of Isaac

represents an important part of Christian culture. In both cases, the goal of the piece is to show

values through emotion. The Lamassu attempts to show the Neo-Assyrian value of power and

dominance through a figure that appears powerful and dominant. In the case of the Binding of

Isaac panel, Ghiberti teaches the Christian values of mercy and obedience through the depiction

of a scene that embodies those values. The way that completely different cultures that would

likely not even recognize the other as a civilization employed art to perform the same function.

The way civilizations employ and value art represent the most uniting characteristics of human

life. The visual representation of powerful ideas within a culture is a uniting characteristic that

surpasses religion or societal differences. These two pieces are excellent examples of this effect.
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Works Cited

Apley, Alice. “African Lost-Wax Casting.” Metmuseum.org, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct.

2001, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wax/hd_wax.htm.

Arora, Dipra. “The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Filippo Brunelleschi & Lorenzo Ghiberti.”

Medium, Medium, 27 Dec. 2020,

https://dipraarora.medium.com/the-sacrifice-of-isaac-by-filippo-brunelleschi-lorenzo-ghib

erti-a7588c5de27d.

Lowenthal, Constance. “Lorenzo Ghiberti.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

Inc., 27 Nov. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lorenzo-Ghiberti.

Schwabach, Associate Professor Emeritus Bruce. “Art History II.” Brunelleschi & Ghiberti,

The Sacrifice of Isaac | Art History II, OER Services,

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/arthistory2-91/chapter/bruelleschi-ghiberti-the-sacrific

e-of-isaac/.