#30 Brunelleschi & The Dome I

* After he finished the first set of doors, he was commissioned to make a huge bronze statue of John The Baptist by the same guild – by the cloth merchant’s guild, the Arte di Calimala. –  for the outside wall of Orsanmichele (Orsan-mikele) – (or “Kitchen Garden of St. Michael”) –  another church in Florence. * It was the largest statue ever cast in Florence up to that point. * From its base, it rises 2.55 meters. * By comparison, Michelangelo’s David stands at 5.17-metres. * Vasari: In this work, which was placed in position in the year 1414, there is seen the beginning of the good modern manner, in the head, in an arm which appears to be living flesh, in the hands, and in the whole attitude of the figure. He was thus the first who began to imitate the works of the ancient Romans, whereof he was an ardent student, as all must be who desire to do good work. * Ghiberti also wrote a book, which he called his Commentary. * This was the first artist’s autobiography. * Now this is a big deal. * One thing we haven’t mentioned, is that at this stage, and actually for a long time afterwards, these visual artists weren’t celebrities. * They were working joes. * Florence was the city of guilds. * Craftsmen. * Being an artist was a craft. * Sure – you had some craftsmen who were more talented, or who worked harder, or had higher standards, than others. * But they weren’t superstars like we think of artists today. * What they were producing wasn’t “art” as we think of it. * It was more like… wallpaper. * Something to cover your walls with. * Not something you’d go into a hushed gallery and stare at for hours. * But it was more than wallpaper. * It was like wallpaper and picture books combined. * Because most people were still illiterate and uneducated. * But everyone can look at a picture, a sculpture. * And from that they can learn, or be reminded of, the stories from the Bible. * But this position of “artist as celebrity” started to emerge in Florence during the Renaissance. * Because the wealth elite wanted the very best artists to work on their projects, there was a lot of competition. * And some artists ended up in a position where they were admired during their lifetimes. * The Medici had a lot to do with this. * But we’ll get to that in later episodes. * So anyway, for Gibbo to write a book about himself, is a pretty big deal. * As we said earlier in the series, Augustine of Hippo wrote Confessions, the first Western autobiography ever written, around 400. * Although the idea of writing about yourself obviously wasn’t new. * Julius Caesar wrote his own commentaries about his own campaigns. * The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote his own autobiography in the late first century. * Anyway, back to Ghiberti’s book. * Unfortunately, the only copy of Gibbo’s Commentaries we have is a single corrupt manuscript. * Vasari wasn’t a big fan: * Vasari: The same Lorenzo wrote a book in the vulgar tongue, wherein he treated of many diverse matters, but in such wise that little profit can be drawn from it. The only good thing in it, in my judgment, is this,