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"Porta
Del Paradiso" or the "Gate of Paradise" was created by the
Italian sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (born 1378 in
Pelago, Italy - died in 1455, in Florence) for the Battistero
di San Giovanni (the Baptistery of San Giovanni) in
1425–52 which is part of the Cathedral complex of the
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (the "Duomo of Florence")
and is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian
art in the *Quattrocento. It owes its name to
Michelangelo who upon visiting to see the new doors
exclaimed: "These doors are fit to
be the Gates of Paradise".
PORTA DEL PARADISO or GATE OF PARADISE
By Lorenzo Ghiberti
The door's height is (506 cm) 5.06 meters or 16.60 feet 506
cm
and the Width is (287 cm) 2.87 meters or 9.41 feet
At
the picture below is the Baptistery and part of the
Campanile of the Duomo. (see the
Divine Comedy and towards
the end of the page is the Piazza del Duomo with Santa Maria Del Fiore and
the Baptistery visible on the bottom left corner.)
A few things about the Baptistery: in
Dante's words from "La Commedia": "il bel San Giovanni", has a distinct
octagonal layout with eight equal sides and a rectangular
addition on the west side. It is worldwide known for its three
gilded bronze doors:
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The South Door
is the oldest of the three. The work was done by Andrea
Pisano and was completed in 1330. It
has 28 **quatrefoils. Of them 20 depict
events from the life of John the Baptist while eight
(which are at the bottom of the door) are representations of virtues.
-The
North Door known as the Doors of the Cross
(work by Lorenzo Ghiberti). He used
the same quatrefoil format as Pisano and also has 28
quatrefoils arranged in 7 rows. The
molding is framed with designs of fruits, animals and flora and
has a prophet at each intersection.
-
The East Door known
as Gate of Paradise (work also by Lorenzo Ghiberti). It
took Ghiberti 21 years (1403-1424) to finish the job. The two
panel door depicts events from the
Creation to the reign of Solomon and has ten rectangular
frames five on each panel which contain scenes that are
presented in a style carrying a sense of depth through a linear
viewpoint and a relief graded to the lowest degree for objects
that are far away. He uses a square format
rather than the medieval quatrefoil and some panels have up to
100 figures with extensive details. The scenes are from
the Old Testament and the door case has niches adorned with
statuettes, busts and medallions.
Frame detail from the Gate of Paradise
Ghiberti was commissioned by the Merchants' Guild which
was responsible for the upkeep of the Baptistery having done a
few years earlier the door of the North Entrance (see left
pictures below).
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North Door above and below
The Doors of The Cross
by Lorenzo Ghiberti
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Left
North side of the Baptistery with
North Door
Right
East side of the Baptistery with the
East Door
SOUTH DOOR
above
by Andrea Pisano |
East Door above and below
Gate of Paradise
by Lorenzo Ghiberti
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Picture above taken by Maria and Demetra Simos on July 12, 2000
at the Battistero di San Giovanni Porta del
Paradiso in Firenze (Florence) Italy.
The statues above the door are copies of the "The Baptism of
Christ" by Andrea Sansovino (1502-1505) with the
originals residing next door in the museum Opera del Duomo
There are so many more things that I could add here but nothing
will be as enlightening as a personal visit there which I highly
recommend.
*Quattrocento : The artistic and cultural events that took
place in Italy at the 15th century is called Quattrocento. If
you are interested in the actual translation of the word Quattrocento it means four hundred where Quattro means
four and Cento means one hundred.
**Quatrefoil : Is a balanced shape that forms the general
outline of four partly covered circles of the same
diameter.
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