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by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
The Entry into Jerusalem is a very important Christian teaching where Jesus Christ is greeted by crowds who lay their clothes on the ground as a strong gesture of love and respect
It is taught in Christian scripture that Jesus had arrived from the Mount of Olives to receive this incredible welcome from the people of Jerusalem. This can be learnt about in the passages of Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44 and John 12:12-19.
We do know from supporting documentation that Ghiberti had agreed to complete all foliage detail by his own hand as this was one of the features of his work that most impressed those who had initially awarded him this project. It is also likely that his architectural touches in the background were also from his hand too, but perhaps some of the figures were completed by members of his studio, under his supervision.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is such a significant movement in the religion of Christianity that there is a specific festival for it known as Palm Sunday which is precisely a week before Easter Sunday. Giotto and Pietro Lorenzetti also made use of this symbolic moment in their own careers.
The Entry into Jerusalem is very similar to The Raising of Lazarus in the way Ghiberti composes these two significant Christian tales. Both have a number of figures closely grouped together in active scenes suggesting activity and emotion in line with the stories that they aim to depict.