I could tell from across Florence’s Piazza del Duomo that the massive golden doors were something special. And after a steady diet of gray limestone and Gothic cathedrals, I was ready for some Renaissance bling … delivered beautifully by Lorenzo Ghiberti’s iconic and groundbreaking Gates of Paradise.
For many historians, Florence is considered ground zero for the Renaissance. In the mid-15th Century this small Tuscan city was the urban trifecta of wealth, artistic talent, and competitive spirit that made it the cultural hub of Europe. It was also the hometown of Lorenzo Ghiberti, a genius artist and teacher who worked for over 20 years creating a pioneering sets of doors to be installed on the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
The Baptistery’s prestigious location directly in front of Florence’s Duomo meant that the benefactors, the wealthy and powerful Guild of Cloth Merchants, wanted to make an unmistakable religious statement. A competition was held and Ghiberti’s proposal for a set of doors won the commission. The merchants were swayed by panels depicting a veritable who’s who of Old Testament characters and Biblical stories: Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Joseph, and Solomon.
The Gates were innovative in many ways, but one of the most important was that Ghiberti was one of the first artists to use the new mathematical laws of linear perspective. Simply explained, by using a single vanishing point, in each panel he created the illusion of deep, three dimensional space on a flat, two-dimensional bronze surface.
Saying this is an artistic tweak is a massive understatement. Representing three dimensional space on a flat surface had challenged artists for thousand of years. Ghiberti and his new technique demonstrated that instead of showing only one event per scene artists could now tell a story, arranged from the beginning to the end.
To add some 21st Century relevance, let’s talk about this multi-panel door and its connection to modern comics – hold the laughter please. Basically, almost 600 years ago Ghiberti was solving the same problem facing Stan Lee when Spiderman and The Hulk were delivering their POW!s and BAM!s to the bad guys. How was it possible to tell a complex story with a beginning, middle, and end using only static images?
Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art appreciated this challenge:
“The history of comics is a 15,000-year-old story… from the caves of Lascaux to the ‘Gates of Paradise’… man has always sought to tell stories through the juxtaposition of images in sequence.”
The Baptistry doors were installed in 1452, and were instantly recognized as a tremendous accomplishment. They’re one of the finest sculptures of the time, and while Ghiberti isn’t as famous as later Renaissance heavyweights, Michelangelo is noted to have said “They are so beautiful that they would be perfect for the Gates of Paradise.”
Ghiberti’s 575 year-old masterpiece stands as a golden reminder that when technical genius meets creative, artistic vision, even a utilitarian door can become an unbroken thread from the past to the present.
Happy Trails,
James & Terri
Photo Credits: 1. TxllxT 2. Bradley Weber 3. Yair Haklai 5-7 Javier Carro 8. Kandi
GALLIVANCE 