The Baptistery of San Giovanni is a medieval baptistery in the Italian city of Florence, where many works of art from medieval Italy are collected. The southern doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni, created by Andrea Pisano, contain 28 panels with various bas-reliefs that depict the life of John the Baptist. This work of art combines various visual elements and design principles, which serve as a tool for the artist to create a masterpiece.
The line is one of the most important elements of art that creates the shape of a painting or sculpture. The lines on the South doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni are designed to better depict the figures of John the Baptist in the bas-reliefs. Just like a line, color is able to convey various details of works of art. Glided bronze, using the sunlight, brings the colors to life on the doors. South doors have a certain texture that manifests in a rough coarseness giving volume to this masterpiece. The other two visual elements are mass and volume, which are most often found in architecture (Kleiner, 2017). Mass represents the weight and volume of the South doors. The volume is the space that the object occupies, which in the case of the doors is the South side of the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
The principles of design serve artists to correctly use the elements of art in their works. Thus, balance is the distribution of visual elements in a work of art. On the South doors, each bas-relief is separated by a clear line, which creates a balance between them and helps the artist to tell the story. However, Andrea Pisano, ignoring the emphasis principle, arranged the bas-reliefs in such a way that there is no specific prominence. Rhythm, in turn, involves the movement of elements of a painting or architectural work. Artists achieve rhythm through the repetition of lines and shapes. Thus, Andrea Pisano, repeating the images of the bas-relief characters in each episode, created its own rhythm.
To sum up, design principles and visual elements help the artists create their works of art. Andrea Pisano, using lines, color, texture, mass, and volume, created the Southern Doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni as they are known to millions of people. Moreover, the balance and rhythm helped the artist to ensure that each bas-relief is special and unique, attracting the attention of the audience.
Reference
Kleiner, F. S. (2017). Gardner’s Art Through The Ages: The Western Perspective (15th ed., vol. 1). Cengage Learning.