Florence Baptistery: East Doors (Florence, Italy) : Adam tilling the soil, Cain and Abel at their vocation, their sacrifices, the murder of Abel
- Creator:
- Ghiberti, Lorenzo, ca. 1381-1455
- Published/Created:
- Florence, Tuscany, Italy
1425-1452 - Date Depicted:
- 10/14/1998
500 AD - 1499 AD - Materials:
- bronze
- Notes:
- In 1425 Ghiberti received the commission for the final set of doors. The Gothic quatrefoil and the distinction between the dark background and the gilt figures were this time abandoned; in contrast, the new doors had ten large, squarish, totally gilded reliefs, each containing several related Old Testament episodes. Through gilding, the use of Albertian perspective and gradation of relief (diminishing as forms recede), Ghiberti achieved a convincing illusion of spatial depth and narrative continuity. The doors (completed 1452) made such a strong impression on the artist's contemporaries that his earlier set was transferred to the north entrance and the new doors were installed on the east façade, facing the cathedral. According to Vasari, Michelangelo, in a play on the word paradiso (the area between a baptistery and a cathedral façade), claimed that Ghiberti's doors were worthy to be the 'Gates of Paradise'.
- Variant Titles:
- Gates of Paradise
- Topics:
- Architecture -- Italy -- 15th century -- (YVRC)
- Period/Style:
- Renaissance
- Culture:
- Italian
- Accession Number:
- 6A1-GL-BE-C1
- Genre:
- sculpture (AAT)
- Format:
- Image
- Content Type:
- Sculptures, Models, & Architecture
- Rights:
- Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement. - Access Restrictions:
- Yale Community Only
- Digital:
- architectural exteriors; cycles or series; Old Testament and Apocrypha casting architectural elements; openings (architectural elements) ; doors; visual works; sculpture (visual work); reliefs (sculptures); bas-reliefs (sculpture)
- Source Creator:
- Gilchrist, Scott
- Source Title:
- Archivision Base Collection
- Source Created:
- 2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
10/14/1998 - Source Note:
- Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist
- Yale Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Digital Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Local Record Number:
- 4152
- OID:
- 10103149
- PID:
- digcoll:1825093