Gates of Paradise

Timeline

1. 1425Florence · FlorenceAfter Ghiberti completed the first bronze door, the wool merchants' guild commissioned him to make a new gilded bronze door for the Baptistery's east side, with the composition changed to ten large Old Testament narrative panels, marking a shift from Gothic compartmentalization to the unified Renaissance picture.
2. 1426–1451Ghiberti workshop, Florence · FlorenceGhiberti's workshop cast the ten Old Testament reliefs panel by panel using the lost-wax method, organizing the figures with linear perspective and architectural depth; his son Vittorio and assistants participated in finishing and gilding, giving the door both goldsmith detail and monumental scale.
3. 1452East door of the Florence Baptistery · FlorenceThe gilded bronze door was installed on the east side facing the cathedral, and the original first door was moved to the north side; the new door, with its ten continuous narratives, faced the cathedral and became a landmark of Florentine public art, later being called the 'Gates of Paradise.'
4. c. 1500–1550Florence · FlorenceVasari and others record that Michelangelo called the door worthy to be called the Gates of Paradise, and 'Gates of Paradise' became the common name; as a model of Renaissance bronze narrative relief, the door continues to influence later assessments of the Baptistery and Ghiberti.