Which guild commissioned Lorenzo Ghiberti’s statue of St. John the Baptist for Orsanmichele?

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Bronze self-portrait of Lorenzo Ghiberti in relief, set within ornate floral and geometric decoration on the Gates of Paradise at the Florence Baptistery. — Lorenzo Ghiberti Self-portrait by Lorenzo Ghiberti, detail from *Gates of Paradise*, 1425–52; gilded bronze doors formerly on the east side of the Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence, and now on display in Opera del Duomo Museum, Florence.

The statue of St. John the Baptist for Orsanmichele was commissioned by the Arte dei Mercanti di Calimala, which was the guild of merchant bankers and international traders in cloth.12

Ghiberti was commissioned to create this larger-than-life-size bronze figure around 1412 to serve as the patron saint for the guild's niche on the exterior of the building. He successfully completed the work in 1416, with gilding added the following year.1