by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on July 28, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Lorenzo Ghiberti shows Luke as an active writer. Seated in profile, the Evangelist reaches toward an open book on an elaborate desk. His ox appears low at the right. Hands, angled torso and writing furniture create a strong horizontal axis of work across the quatrefoil.
Contents
Position on the North Door
Luke occupies the Evangelist register on the right leaf, directly above Gregory the Great. Mark sits beside him; John and Matthew occupy the corresponding level on the left leaf.
The North Door was produced between 1403 and 1424. The original is in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, while the exterior Baptistery door is a copy. Opera del Duomo reports the Evangelists within a proposed Krautheimer phase around 1407–1413/15. This remains a scholarly reconstruction, not an individually documented date.[1][2]
Writing as bodily work
Luke's profile and forward reach distinguish him from the other Evangelists. John pauses in contemplation and Matthew turns toward his symbol; Luke's attention is directed along his arms toward the page.
The open book and substantial desk make authorship materially specific. The body bends into the task, joining eye, hand and text. Drapery follows the seated pose but does not obscure its forward movement.
The ox and the desk
The ox, Luke's traditional symbol, is placed low beside the furniture. It identifies the Evangelist without interrupting the writing axis. Its compact animal form contrasts with the desk's architectural verticals and layered surfaces.
Ghiberti uses furniture to create a working space without depicting a full room. Stand, book and seat fill the quatrefoil efficiently and give the solitary figure a clear environment.
Begin at Luke's head, follow the torso and hands to the book, then locate the ox below. The relief's purpose becomes clear through that path: inspiration is represented not as spectacle but as concentrated physical labour performed at a text.
Discussion
Ghiberti rewards slow looking: relief, gilding, narrative structure, workshop practice and conservation evidence can all change how a work is read.
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