Lorenzo Ghiberti (ca. 1381-1455) was an Italian sculptor, goldsmith, architect, painter, and writer. His east doors, called the Gates of Paradise, of the Baptistery of Florence are a supreme monument to the age of humanism.

Lorenzo Ghiberti was born in Florence about 1381. He learned the goldsmith's trade from Bartoluccio de Michele; though many small sculptural pieces have been attributed to Ghiberti, no goldsmith's article mentioned in contemporary documents is extant. He was accepted in the goldsmiths' guild in 1409, in the painters' guild in 1423, and in the stonemasons' guild in 1427.

In 1400 Ghiberti went to the Romagna to escape the plague in Florence and assisted another painter in executing frescoes (since destroyed) on the walls of the castle of Carlo Malatesta. On his return to Florence in 1401 Ghiberti took part with seven other Tuscan sculptors (including Filippo Brunelleschi and Jacopo della Quercia) in the historic competition for the gilded bronze...