Sacrifice of Isaac

Filippo Brunelleschi, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
Artist
Filippo Brunelleschi
Firenze 1377 – 1446 Firenze

Giuseppe Lelli
(cast maker)
Firenze
Dated
1401 (original), 1907 (cast)
Medium
plaster cast
Dimensions
54 × 35 × 12 cm
Inv.no.
Rg.143
Department
Sculpture
Current Location of the Original Artwork
Italy, Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello

In 1401, the Arte di Calimala, the Florentine guild of cloth finishers, announced a competition for the second set of bronze doors (the north doors) to the Baptistery opposite the Duomo. The first bronze doors, at the southern entrance to the Baptistery, had been completed sixty-four years earlier by Andrea Pisano. Seven sculptors, among them Lorenzo Ghiberti (ca. 1378 — 1455) and Filippo Brunelleschi, took part in the contest. Their task was to complete a bronze relief of the Sacrifice of Isaac. The competition, and thus the commission for the doors, was won by Ghiberti. Brunelleschi’s model is found today in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.