FILARETE
(b. ca. 1400, Firenze, d. 1469, Roma)

Bronze door

1433-45
Bronze
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

The bronze door was created between 1433, the year Filarete arrived in Rome an was present at the coronation of Sigismund as Holy Roman Emperor, and 1445, as can be seen from the inscription on the back of the door, which includes a representation of Filarete and his assistants. In a single work the sculptor successfully combined Christian iconography with antique decorative motifs as well as creating a record of the most significant political and ecclesiastical event of the day, the Council of Florence.

The scenes on the door include Christ the Pantocrator, the Annunciation, St Paul, and St Peter with Pope Eugenius IV. At the bottom are two scenes of martyrdom, the Beheading of St Paul, and the Crucifixion of St Peter.