Jacob and Esau
7:00 AM |
| Lorenzo Ghiberti, Jacob and Esau, 1425-52 |
This relief, titled Jacob and Esau, is another relief from Ghiberti's magnum opus, the East Doors or Gates of Paradise. Crafted sometime between 1425 and 1452, the relief looks to tell the story of the twin brothers as they fight over their respective birthrights. While other parts of the story (e.g. the selling of Esau's birthright for stew) are depicted in the periphery, the ultimate end to the the biblical story, their reconciliation, is depicted in the front of the relief.
Looking at this relief for the first time, one of my biggest and most pressing questions was, "How"? With any ornate and detailed work of art there will be questions of how they decided to frame certain things or construct a scene, but for me this piece stands as both a technical achievement and an artistic one. Something that Ghiberti became known for, at least with his casting and relief work, was his exquisite detailing and positioning. His casts, unlike many of the ones at the time, possessed a level of detail and thematic consideration that was lost on contemporaries like Brunelleschi.
In this relief, we see Ghiberti's excellent workmanship at the forefront. The raised figures in the front lend it an acute sense of depth, and the structures (the building on the left and the circular veranda) are well done in their proportions and perspective. But the one thing that strikes me as "off" about this relief is how cluttered it seems. While there are many individual elements that are downright awesome, there is too much going on to identify what exactly the focus should be. The scene in the front where two factions appear to be confronting each other or the scene in the back in the mountains? While the scenes individually could make for a great relief, together they're at odds with each other. Despite this grievance, I still feel as though this piece only cements Ghiberti's reputation as an unparalleled goldsmith and relief crafter.
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