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Baptistery of San Giovanni – Piazza del Duomo (1059-1128)

Artist/Designer: Filippo Brunelleschi , Arnolfo di Cambio, Francesco Talenti, Bernardo Rossellino, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi "Donatello" , Andrea Pisano, Lorenzo Ghiberti

Project Location: Florence, Italy

Figure 1: Interior view of the Baptistery ( Source | Accessed : April 27, 2022 | Photographer: Tim Adams )
Figure 2: Facade of the Baptistery
( Source | Accessed : April 13, 2022 | Photographer: Bradley Weber )
Figure 3: View of the Baptistery from the left with Florence Cathedral in view. ( Source | Accessed : April 13, 2022 | Photographer: Offical Website Image )
Figure 4: View of the Baptistery from the right with Florence Cathedral and Giotto's Bell Tower in view. ( Source | Accessed : April 13, 2022 | Photographer: Offical Website Image )
Figure 5: Floor Plan of the Baptistery ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Mauro Bernabei )
Figure 6: East doors, or Gates of Paradise, by Lorenzo Ghiberti ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Houston Foodie )
Figure 7: Detail of East Door, (Joseph). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 8: Detail of East Door, (Joshua). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 9: North doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Stephen Najarian )
Figure 10: South doors (detail) by Andrea Pisano ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Américo Aperta )
Figure 11: Tomb of Antipope John XXIII by Donatello ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 12: View of the Apse Mosaic ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 13: The iconography of the Mosaic Ceiling. (2) Angelic Hierarchies, (1) Last Judgement, (3) Stories from Genesis, (4) Stories of Joseph, (5) Lives of Mary and Christ, (6) Stories of St. John the Baptist ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Miklós Boskovits )
Figure 14: View of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the Angelic hierarchies. ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 15: View of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the left side of Last Judgement. ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 16: View of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the right side of Last Judgement. (Apostles and Hell) ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 17: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring Satan. ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 18: View of the Mosaic ceiling featuring scenes from the Story from Genesis. ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 19: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the Story from Genesis, (Fall of Man). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 20: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the Story from Genesis (Fall of Man and God Reprimands Adam and Eve). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 21: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the Stories of Joseph (Jacob Meets Joseph). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 22: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring the Lives of Mary and Christ (The Magi's Return Journey). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )
Figure 23: Detail view of the Mosaic ceiling featuring Stories of St. John the Baptist (Baptism of Christ). ( Source | Accessed : April 20, 2022 | Photographer: Bruce Berkow )

Style/Period(s):
Gothic, Medieval, Romanesque

Primary Material(s):
Stone, Paint, Mosaics

Function(s):
Religious Building

Related Website(s):

Offical Website for the Florence Cathedral
Florence Baptistery | Accessed : May 27, 2023
Mosaic Ceiling of the Florence Baptistery | Accessed : May 27, 2023

Significant Date(s):
11th Century, 12th Century

Additional Information:
Publications/Texts in Print:

Angiola, Eloise M. "“Gates of Paradise” and the Florentine baptistery." The Art Bulletin 60, no. 2 (1978): 242-248.

Bernabei, Mauro, Jarno Bontadi, Gianluca Quarta, Lucio Calcagnile, and Maria Diodato. "The Baptistry of Saint John in Florence: the scientific dating of the timber structure of the dome." International journal of architectural heritage 10, no. 6 (2016): 704-713.

Boskovits, Miklós. The mosaics of the Baptistery of Florence. Vol. 2. Giunti, 2007.

Haines, Margaret. "Brunelleschi and bureaucracy: the tradition of public patronage at the Florentine Cathedral." I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 3 (1989): 89-125.

Nagel, Alexander. "Authorship and image-making in the monument to Giotto in Florence Cathedral." RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 53, no. 1 (2008): 143-151.

Toker, Franklin KB. "Florence cathedral: the design stage." The art bulletin 60, no. 2 (1978): 214-231.

Trachtenberg, Marvin. "Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and" L'occhio"" minore" of Florence Cathedral." The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 42, no. 3 (1983): 249-257.

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Building Address: Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy

Patron: The patron for the building was Pope Nicholas II. The doors were constructed under the patronage of the Arte di Calimala, the Guild of Merchants, Finisher and Dyer of Foreign Cloth.

Significant Dates: Construction began on November 6th, 1059, and was completed in 1128. The South Door was sculpted between 1330 and 1336. Then in 1401, the north and east doors were sculpted. The Mosaic began in 1225 until 1330.

Architects: Filippo Brunelleschi, Arnolfo di Cambio, Francesco Talenti and Bernardo Rossellino.

Artists: South doors were sculpted by Andrea Pisano. The north and east doors were made by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The tomb of Antipope John XXIII was made by Donatello. The mosaic ceiling artist is hard to identify but is believed to be the Franciscan friar Jacobus.

Associated Projects: Florence Cathedral, "Duomo di Firenze” - Piazza del Duomo (1296-1469) and Giotto's Bell Tower - Piazza del Duomo (1334- 1359)

Tags: Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance, Cathedral

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