Orsanmichele

…lies a remarkable building, the Orsanmichele (oratory of St. Michael). In 1290 Arnolfo built a loggia here for the wheat market, which, however, was destroyed by fire; a larger loggia was erected in 1377 and then enclosed to form a church in 1380. Its chief fame comes from its early…

…niches on the exterior of Orsanmichele, the church of Florentine guilds (St. George has been replaced by a copy; the original is now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello). Here, for the first time since Classical antiquity and in striking contrast to medieval art, the human body is rendered as…

…of the guilds’ communal building, Orsanmichele. The job was a bold undertaking, Ghiberti’s first departure from goldsmith-scale work; it was, in fact, the first large bronze in Florence. Ghiberti successfully finished the St. John in 1416, adding gilding in the following year. The technical achievement and the modernity of its…

…for the guilds of the Or San Michele in Florence. Of the latter, the “Quattro Coronati” (“Four Crowned Saints”; c. 1411–13) is considered his masterpiece. Influenced by antique art, the four saints are dressed in firmly modeled Roman togas and have heads that strongly resemble the ancient portrait busts of…

…in the guild oratory of Or San Michele, of which he became superintending architect by 1356. This is a decorative structure of great complexity, supported on four octagonal piers and heavily encrusted with coloured inlay. Its principal sculptural features are, on the front and sides, a number of hexagonal reliefs…