Gates of Paradise – Lorenzo Ghiberti - Light

Gates of Paradise – Lorenzo Ghiberti - Light

Gates of Paradise – Lorenzo Ghiberti
Original: Door of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence: 1425-52: Gilt bronze: Opera Duomo Museum, Florence
Theseareapairofdoors that Imanagedtoseeacopyofat theCastCourtof theV&AMuseum.Theoriginalsweredesignedforanentrancetothe
Baptistery inFlorencebutarenowdisplayedat theOperaDuomoMuseuminFlorence.
Thedoorsareverytall (Width473cmxheight767.5cm)andhavetenmainpanels. Surroundingthesepanelsare24full figuresand24heads.Thesefigures
andthepanelsall protrudefromthebasematerial toasignificantextent.Theheightof thedoorscanmake it a littledifficult toseethedetailsof thepanels
andsurroundsat thehigher levels.
Eachof thepanelsportraysadifferentscene(orepisode).Agreatsenseofperspectivehasbeenachievedin
thesepanels, this isduetoacoupleof techniquesusedbytheir creator. Firstlythere isasenseof linear
perspective fromhowthebuildingsappear torecede intothebackground.This canbeclearly seeninthepanel
onthe lowerrighthandsideof thedoorandpicturedhere.Renaissanceartistshadonly justbeguntouse
perspectiveat thestartof the15th century, soGhiberti’suseof thetechnique inthedoorpanelsmusthavebeen
oneof theearliest instances.
Secondly thecharactersandeventsportrayedarecast ingreater reliefat thefrontof thescene.Forexample in
thepanel shownonthe left, thebuildingsof thefardistancearecast inmuchshallowerrelief thanthoseof the
middleandforeground.Thefiguresandbuildingsarecast ingreater reliefas youapproachthefrontof thescene.
Thefiguresat theveryfrontarecast inthegreatest relief, somealmost resemblingsmall statuesaffixedtothe
panel.Thisgivesasenseof themappearingmuchnearerat thefrontof thescene, indeedsomealmostseemto
be‘fallingout’of thefrontof thescene.
Thescene is renderedingreatdetail, forexample:
• childrenarepeeringover thebalcony
• oneof thecharacters clearlyhasamonkeyonhis shoulder
• Oneperson is looking intentlyat the twomaincharacters
Someof thepanels seemtohavedifferentscenesfromthesamestorywithinthesinglepanel.
Thepanelonthetopof the leftdoorseemstoportraydifferentscenes fromAdamandEve inthe
GardenofEdenwithscenesofGodbreathing life intoAdam,of creatingEvefromAdam’s rib, the
temptationinthefar leftof thepanel culminatingwiththeexpulsionofAdamandEvefromthe
GardenofEdenonthefar rightof thepanel.This remindedmeofapainting Iannotatedformy
Level1HistoryofArtcourse. IntheRapeofEuropaVeroneseportrayedEuropa inameadowsat
withZeus intheformofaBull.WithinthepaintingVeronese includedfurther scenesofEuropa
ridingthebull totheseaandof thebull carryingEuropaoff intothewater.Pilger (2014)states that inthisway“Veronesebrilliantly showstimeunfolding in
onepictorial space”. I thinkthat this is trueof thepanelsonGhiberti’sGates ofParadise.Awholestory told inthecastingofonepanel.
Robert Coe
Student No:507140
History of Art 2
Page
1 |2
ThearticleGatesofParadise (PortadelParadiso)ontheVictoriaandAlbertMuseumwebsite (2012)givesdetailsof theepisodesdepictedineachpanelas
follows
TheCreationofAdam,theCreationof Eve,
theFall andtheExpulsionfromParadise
CainandAbel
ThestoryofNoah
ThestoryofAbraham
EssauandJacob
Thestoryof Joseph
ThestoryofMoses
Thestoryof Joshua
DavidandGoliath
SolomonandTheQueenofSheba
Several sourcescommentontheoriginof thetitle ‘GatesofParadise’. Lubow(2007) foroneattributes thephrasetoMichelangelo, asdoesShaw(2007)
whosuggests thatwhenhefirst sawthemMichelangelodeclaredthem‘worthytobethegatesofparadise’.Angiola(1978)disputesthis, statingthat the
namecomesfromthefact that“intheMiddleAgestheBaptisterybuildingitselfwasenvisionedasagateway,amonumentalportal leadingthebaptised
Christian intotheheavenlycity”.
Thetenscenesare framedbyaseriesof figuresandprojectingheads.TheArt InstituteofChicago(2007)states thatthe figures represent“OldTestament
prophets,heroines,andsibyls, generallycreditedwithforetellingthebirthof Christ”. It alsostates that theheadsnotonlydepictprophetsbut include
representationsofGhiberti himselfandhis sonVittoriowhocontinuedtheworkshopafter thedeathof LorenzoGhiberti.
CommentatorsseemtoagreethatGhiberticast thepanelsusingthe lost-waxcastingtechniqueShaw(2007)quotesFrancescaBewerofHarvard’sStraus
Center forConservationgivingthereasonswhyshebelievedthe ‘direct’ castingapproachwasused(andwhichwouldnothaveallowedforanyerrors tobe
madeinthecastingprocess) rather thanthe‘indirect’methodwhichwouldhaveallowedreplicas tobemade.
Apparently thecombinationofseveral episodesfromastory intoasinglescenewasanovel stepinsculpture, Lubow(2007) furthercomments thatGhiberti
“introducedanarrativetechniquenewinsculpture—thesimultaneousdepictionof successivescenes”.Whileall commentatorsdescribethedetails
portrayedinthe individualpanels,Angiola (1978)states that thepanelshaveacommonthread.Shebelievesthat thecombinationof theepisodes
portrayedinthedoorpanels“showthewaythroughfaithtotheportalsofParadise.Thenarrativetakesus fromthebeginning, theFall ofMan, tothefinal
illustrationofanactofextraordinary faith, themeetingofSolomonandtheQueenofSheba”. Sheconcludesthatas theQueenwasalsopresentat theLast
Judgement, this finalpanel “carriesus forwardintimeandsuggests thearrivalof the faithfulat theGatesofParadiseitself”.
Bibliography
Angiola,E.M., (1978). "GatesofParadise"andtheFlorentineBaptistery.TheArtBulletin,60(2), 242.http://doi.org/10.2307/3049780[AccessedNovember
16,2015].
Art InstituteofChicago, (2007)TheGatesofParadise: LorenzoGhiberti'sRenaissanceMasterpiece.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/ghiberti/themes.html [AccessedNovember16,2015].
Lubow,A., (2007).TheGatesofParadise.Smithsonian.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-gates-of-paradise-174431341/?all&no-ist
[AccessedNovember16,2015].
Pilger, Z., (2014).PaoloVeronese,NationalGalleryexhibition: thegentlemanofVerona.The Independent.Availablefrom:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/paolo-veronese-national-gallery-exhibition-the-gentle-man-of-verona-9214820.html
[AccessedNovember16,2015].
Shaw, J., (2007). "TheGatesofParadise".HarvardMagazine.http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/03/the-gates-of-paradise.html [AccessedNovember16,
2015].
Victoria&AlbertMuseum(2012).GatesofParadise (PortadelParadiso), http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/15295[AccessedNovember16,2015].
Robert Coe
Student No:507140
History of Art 2
Page
2 |2