Michelangelo called the doors to Florence's baptistery the Gates of Paradise. Over a quarter of a century in the making, the bronze doors facing the cathedral door were begun the same time as the dome. Imagine what it must have been like in Florence at this time; between 1425 and 1450 the dome of the cathedral was in process as was the Gates of Paradise, two stunning, very public works of art.
The Baptistery
In a traditional arrangement, the cathedral complex consists of the church, the bell tower, and the baptistry. The Florence baptistry dates to roughly the year 1000, and for centuries was thought to be an ancient Roman building. (Look at the marble that is on the "back" side. This is clearly taken from the ancient forum which would have been located a few blocks away.)
The Doors
The entire baptistry is dedicated, understandably, to John the Baptist, and the first set of doors was created by Andrea Pisano around 1330, show scenes from the life of the patron saint.
Seventy years later, when it came time to complete the second, northern doors of the baptistry a competition was held. Two panels from this contest survive, that of Brunelleschi, who would become the architect of the cupola of the Duomo, and that of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was crowned winner of the competition. Ghiberti signed the contract in 1403 and completed the doors in 1425, just under one hundred years from the first set of doors.
This second set of doors doors, that currently sit on the north side of the baptistery, mirror the style of the first set of doors completed nearly a century earlier by Andrea Pisano. By design, rules were set in place for the presentation of these scenes from the life of Christ. Namely, the quatrefoil frame was to be used, as they had in the previous set of doors.
The City of Florence was so pleased with the work of Ghiberti that immediately upon completion of his work Ghiberti was awarded the commission for the third and final set of doors. He would work on these from 1425 to about 1450 and he was bound by virtually no rules in respect to the creation of the doors.
The Gates of Paradise
Ghiberti presents us with ten scenes from the Old Testament, and the manner in which he portrays these scenes is nothing short of revolutionary. The first thing to note is the level of relief of the panels. In general, there are three levels of relief, low, middle, and high. Ghiberti employs each one of these and adds, I would argue, ultra relief. (Let me be clear: in the history of art, ultra relief is not "a thing". But it should be. Art historians, however, do agree with the use of "extreme" high relief.) Some of the figures on the door are so detatched from the background that they are practically free standing.
The second thing to notice as you look at the door is the narrative element of his work. Using the various levels of relief, he shows the complete story throughout the entire area of the panel. Consider the panel of the story of Joseph. On the upper right in low relief we see Joseph thrown into the well by his brothers. On the lower left we see the discovery of the cup in the bag of grain. And above this scene we see Joseph revealing who he is to his brothers. Throughout the rest of the scene there is a tremendous number of figures simply carrying on with the activities of the day.
Finally, I would not the use of Roman buildings - or at least Roman inspired architecture with the buildings that are presented - in linear perspective!
The Panels
Here, for the sake of convenience - and especially if you are standing in front of the doors - are the 10 panels:
Adam and Eve
Cain and Abel
Noah: In renaissance art the ark was often portrayed as a pyramid.
Abraham
Jacob and Esau: Note the perspective in the classical buildings in the background.
Joseph: I personally love the detail of the cup.
Moses
Joshua: If you look closely, the name, Jericho, spelled "Gerico" is displayed on the wall of the city: GER on the left side of the gate, and ICO on the right.
David
Solomon and Sheba: The inclusion of the story of Solomon and Sheba is an interesting one, and is based on the legend surrounding the Tree of Life. (I am a sucker for legends!) It is said that the wood from the Tree of Life - the tree which bore the fruit that Adam and Eve ate - flowed underground to Jerusalem. King Solomon attempted to use this wood for his temple, but, unable to be hewn, it was not included. It was this wood, however, upon which Christ was crucified. In other words, the doors that Ghiberti created starts with Adam and Eve and the tree of Life and ends with Solomon and Sheba in a wonderful palace. What happens to the wood from the Tree of Life? Turn the corner to see Ghiberti's other set of doors that presents us with scenes from the life of Christ ending with the crucifixion on that same wood.
The Flood of 1966
In 1966 rising waters from the Arno devastated the city of Florence and damaged so much of the artwork in the city. In various parts of the city you will note markers indicating the height to which the water raised. The Doors of Paradise were completely submerged and raging floodwaters separated many of the panels from the doors themselves. As the waters receded they were left lodged against the gates that are still present, surrounding the doors today. They were cleaned and placed back on the doors.
Conservation
The doors you see are not the original doors. Beginning in the late 1980s, they were been removed, cleaned, and put on display in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Works of the Duomo) directly behind the cathedral. I strongly encourage you to take the time to view the original doors. If you are climbing the cupola you will enter the museum, because that is where you buy tickets. All three sets of doors are beautifully presented. It is hard to imagine that after the flood of 1966 the doors were put back onto the building out in the open. Consider also that it wasn't so terribly long ago that cars drove in the piazza! The exhaust from the vehicles and the overall pollution of the city damaged them terribly. When I lived in Florence I was fortunate to see the panel in situ and, along with Orsanmichele, made it part of my walk as often as I could. I figured that if Michelangelo could take the time to walk past them so could I!
The current doors are, frankly, a poor copy. There is a specific reason for this. The panels as created by Ghiberti have actual gold on them. The doors were created in bronze. To make the gold adhere to the bronze, the artist would melt gold with mercury, then apply a fine layer this mixture to the bronze. The mercury acted as a binding agent, for the liquid was then heated, and the mercury would vaporize, leaving the gold bound to the bronze, which created the beautiful gleam. Needless to say, we recognize the toxicity of mercury and that process was not used in the creation of the copies. Those on the door today lack the gleam and the luster of the originals. As far as copies that you will see in the city, contrast the statues on Orsanmichele. The copies there are wonderful and true to life; you should not feel cheated by not seeing the originals. If you are not viewing the original Gates of Paradise, however, I do feel that you are missing out, even if just a little.
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Gates of Paradise, from Google Maps
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