Gates of Paradise

Lorenzo Ghiberti spent 27 years creating these gilded bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery, completing them in 1452. Michelangelo reportedly called them worthy to be the "Gates of Paradise," and the name stuck. The doors contain ten panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament in radical perspective.

Ghiberti won the original commission in a famous 1401 competition that also included Brunelleschi. After finishing the North doors, he was immediately hired for the East doors, these major works. Each panel creates a sculptural world with multiple scenes receding into convincing depth. Figures emerge in high relief at the front while buildings and landscapes flatten toward the horizon.

The original doors now reside in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, protected from weather and pollution. Gilded replicas stand on the Baptistery itself. The panels trace biblical history from Adam and Eve through Solomon, with Ghiberti including his own portrait among the prophets framing the scenes.