stained-glass window in San Lorenzo

Painted in 1412 during the artist's developing years, this work by Lorenzo Ghiberti demonstrates the vitality of fifteenth-century Italian painting in the early fifteenth century, a transformative period in European art. As the Florentine sculptor whose bronze doors for the Baptistery defined the transition from Gothic to Renaissance, Lorenzo Ghiberti approaches the subject with relief sculpture and classical drapery, producing a work of both technical accomplishment and expressive power. This was a period of revolutionary change in European art, as painters in Florence and the Low Countries began breaking with medieval conventions to pursue naturalistic representation.

The painting showcases Lorenzo Ghiberti's relief sculpture, with spatial perspective lending the work its distinctive character. The palette and brushwork are calibrated to serve the subject matter, demonstrating the technical command expected of a work from this period.