The Doors of Paradise are considered by many authorities to be the first
and greatest masterpiece of Italian Renaissance bronze-work. The opus of
Florentine sculptor and bronze craftsman Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455),
their creation occupied much of the last quarter century of his life.
The doors were the third and last set made for the Baptistery of
Florence Cathedral (the Duomo), the first being Pisano's doors devoted
to St. John the Baptist (1345), and the second Ghiberti's New Testament
doors (1434). The theme of the new doors was the Old Testament, and
Leonardo Bruni, Florentine artist and humanist, chose the program, a
summation of the greatest and most familiar stories of the Hebrew Torah,
which is the Christian Old Testament. Several of the stories feature
virtuous younger sons who receive divine favor over their older
brothers; Abel and Cain, Jacob and Esau, (Isaac and Ishmael), Joseph and
his brothers. Another theme is the salvation of humanity (Adam, Noah,
Moses) despite human lapses. Many stories can also be read as precursors
of New Testament themes.
Work began on the doors about 1429, with half the panels near completion
by 1439 and all the panels finished by 1447. At first, twenty-eight
small single-scene panels were planned, as in the earlier doors, but
Ghiberti's daring final design has only ten panels, with twenty-four
statuettes and twenty-four heads in the surrounding frames. The panels
depict grouped scenes in the medieval tradition of continuous
representation, and the rocky landscapes also reveal Gothic influence.
Avant-garde Early Renaissance features include the many
almost-free-standing naturalistic figures, graded relief, and Leon
Battista Alberti's newly-formulated linear perspective, used in three
panels. The work is suffused with a classical aesthetic, and the
elegant, naturalistic figures mark a new and sophisticated humanistic
approach to the timeless stories of scripture. Many of the figures were
derived from Roman sarcophagi and friezes. The upper panels are spacious
and have dramatic power, while the lower panels, closer to eye level,
are crowded and more static. The latter panels dazzle the eye with rich
detail, but lack much of the narrative drama of the upper panels.
In the door frames flanking the panels are statuettes and portrait heads
separated by floral decoration. They represent Old Testament prophets
and heroes whose prophecies or deeds parallel or comment on, scenes in
the adjacent panels. Only ten of the statuettes and four of the heads
are clearly identified. The statuettes are outstanding in their
naturalism and realism, each one worthy to stand on its own. The heads,
almost busts, alternate with the statuettes, in circular frames or
tondi. Most younger heads are toward the top, while heads bearing
turbans suggest oriental references. A few heads are clearly related to
adjacent panels, and it is likely that most are so intended, with the
probable exception of the Ghiberti family portraits. Decorative "Arabic"
lettering on collars is not translatable. The floral decoration is also
notable, and retains the beauty and attention to detail found everywhere
else on the doors.
Completed and installed in 1452, the doors were immediately recognized
as a masterpiece, a pivotal work of the early Renaissance, and the pride
of Florence. Each panel, statuette, head and foliage bouquet shimmers
under a layer of gold, giving the doors a glowing aura of the sacred.
Even the young Michelangelo admired the doors, and considered them
worthy to be the "Gates of Paradise." The influence of the doors
extended to the works of Donatello, Uccello, Lucca Della Robbia,
Bernardo Rossellino, Verocchio, Botticelli, Michelangelo, the
Pre-Raphaelites, Rodin and others. For more information see
Tales from the Crypt:
The Gates of Paradise and
Further Reading at the end of this essay.
Most of the stories depicted in the Doors of Paradise are shared by the
three world faiths of the west; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In a
spirit of brotherhood and reconciliation, scriptural quotations from the
Bible (NRSV), and references to equivalent texts in the Koran, are
included in the following explanatory text. The doors read like the
printed page; left to right, top to base. Each panel description is
followed by a description of its flanking statuettes and heads.
Description of the floral decoration is at
the end of the essay.
Photography and reproduction by Maurice Tani.
Layout by Michael Macrone.
Copyright ©2003 by Grace Cathedral and Michael D. Lampen
