Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378—1455) created his East Doors of the Baptistery of Florence, also known as the Gates of Paradise, between 1425 and 1452. However, Ghiberti’s story began long before when, at the age of 22, he won a competition between himself and Filippo Brunelleschi to create what are now the North Doors. Both artists had produced a panel for the competition showcasing the immense skill of both young artists, as well as their diverse approaches to visual narratives that would shape their work. Ghiberti vertically divided his panel in half by using the natural landscape to create a dynamic space for movement, which greatly appealed to the commissioners at the Arte di Calimala guild.
In 2013, the Frilli Gallery received from Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, Director of the Bargello National Museum, exceptional authorisation to make scans of the original masterpieces of the panels created for the legendary competition between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi in 1401.
The ultra-high-definition scans resulted in a digital relief comprised of a cloud of millions of points from which a resin prototype was printed and used as a model for lost-wax casting, following the most ancient Florentine tradition for making a work in bronze.
At the request of the Sovrintendenza del Polo Museale Fiorentino, these panels – the only faithful replicas of these two masterpieces in the world – were later lent out by the Frilli Gallery for the Florenz! exhibition held in Bonn in 2013.
In this year 2024, Frilli Gallery replicas of the competition panels have been displayed in Lecco, Italy next to an original and precious drawing by Michelangelo, in occasion of the exhibiton “Il Mistero del padre, nel segno di Michelangelo”.
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