The beautiful bronze statue of “St. John the Baptist” was created by Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1412 for the Wool Merchant’s Guild of Florence, Italy. It was the largest bronze statue ever cast in Florence up to that point in history and clearly expresses elements of the International Gothic style. These include the elegant c-curve poses of the figure, the rhythmic “pendulum curves” of the drapery, and the stylized hair and facial features of the figure. Once located in a niche on the outside of the guild church of Orsanmichele (where a copy stands today) the statue is now housed in the Museum of Orsanmichele. Buona visione!