The Gates of Paradise

"The Gates of Paradise" are gold-plated bronze panels placed on the main doors to the Baptistery of San Giovanni that were actually unnamed until Michelangelo likened them to the gates guarding paradise and the name stuck. They were sculpted by Lorenzo Ghiberti, an Italian Renaissance artist and they were installed in 1452. The doors have withstood everything from the growing pollen levels to floods and were finally restored in 1990. It took a full 18 years to completely restore them, but they are now back to their former glory thanks to innovative new laser techniques developed in the 90s.

The panels themselves tell stories from the Bible. From top left to right they are Genesis, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. My favorite reliefs were the first four, so I researched those in more detail. "Genesis" depicts the formation of Adam and Eve, then the temptation, and finally in the far corner the shame they felt naked in the presence of God. "Cain and Abel" shows the brothers praying together and working the fields. In the center of the plaque Cain slays Abel and at the right end he is punished by God. "Noah" is surprising because he actually isn't shown in the ark; instead he is seen naked in front of others and then praying to God on the right. This is telling the story of Noah getting drunk in front of his children and them feeling ashamed or him, which they are not supposed to. "Abraham" is fairly simple and straightforward, like the story, and is seen begging with the angels and then nearly killing his son on the mountaintop before being stopped by God.

What I found most interesting about this was the attention to detail spent on the stories. Every single moment in the story was captured somehow in the small square panels, whether it was in the foreground or background.