Altar (detail)

The picture shows one of the reliefs on the front face of the silver altar commissioned from the goldsmiths Leonardo di ser Giovanni and Betto di Geri by the Arte del Calimala for the Baptistery in Florence.

The reliefs differ significantly from those on the same subject created by Andrea Pisano for the south doors of the Baptistery, their architectural backgrounds offer more illusionistic spaces for the action, all of which appears to take place behind the plane of the relief rather than in front. Taking advantage of the malleability of silver, the sculptors revel in the fine detail of armour, hair, and embroidered borders. Enamel evokes the deep blues, ochers, and greens of fine stained glass set in precisely detailed tracery.