Ghiberti, the Panels of the Gates of Paradise, 1425-52

The mission of carving the Gates of Paradise, the third set among three at the Baptistery, was entrusted to Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1425: the artist had only just finished the second set of doors and his success with these was such that the Guild of the Cloth Finishers and Merchants in Foreign Cloth (“l'Arte di Calimala”), the sponsors of the monument, did not think it necessary to announce and organize a contest: they directly gave him the commission, on faith. The work, which employed a great number of workmen and collaborators, was finished and presented after about twenty-five years: for its beauty it was given the place of honour, in front of the doors of the Cathedral. In former times, the space in front of cathedrals was called “Paradisius,” following religious tradition, but Ghiberti's doors received their name not because of this practice, but from Vasari's account, according to which Michelangelo, beholding their beauty, affirmed that they were worthy of Paradise.
The doors, dedicated to stories from the Old Testament, reflect innovations of the Renaissance: no longer are they twenty small panels, but ten large depictions, which enclose diverse narrative episodes. Ghiberti shows his extraordinary technical mastery, providing a variety of relief levels, from high to low, all the way to the most flattened: objects and figures progressively diminish in scale, creating a perspectival effect, without overwhelming the refinement of the details, worthy of a goldsmith's creation. Take time to admire the panel with the Stories of Joseph, one of the most famous, which Vasari defines as “the worthiest, the most difficult, and the most beautiful,” where perspective and movement form a fascinating ensemble; or the Stories of Saul and David, with the episodeo of the battle, and David beheading the giant Goliath, while in the background Jerusalem can be seen, with the features of Florence. Ghiberti, who did not lack self-esteem, wrote of his achievement in his autobiography: “this is the most exceptional work that I produced: and with every artistry, and every means of ingenuity it was completed.” The doors, burnished with gold in the most expert way, shone brightly and wondrously: they became darkened by soot over the centuries, and suffered severe damage in the flood of 1966, but now they have finally been completely restored, regaining their original beauty.