Restoration work uncovers more carved doors in Florence
(ANSA) – Florence, November 29 – The priceless bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery, dubbed the “Gates of Paradise” by master Michelangelo, have equally ornate mates now being restored.
Experts said Friday that similar doors have been discovered in the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral, matching the bronze doors forged by Renaissance artist Lorenzo Ghiberti in the early 1400s.
During restoration work on the ancient Baptistery, curators say they have discovered other doors with 28 panels featuring scenes from the New Testament.
So far, two panels have been cleaned to reveal carvings of the baptism and temptations of Christ, depicted with ornate friezes and decorated with gold plating and semi-precious stones. The remaining 26 panels are still being cleaned but are revealing the evangelists and doctors of the Church, heads of prophets and sibyls and even a self-portrait of Ghiberti wearing a turban.
Ghiberti’s career was dominated by two successive commissions for pairs of bronze doors in the Baptistery, which have been recognized by major masterpieces of the early Renaissance.
Ghiberti was just 23 when he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors depicting scenes from the New Testament.
In that competition, second place went to Filippo Brunelleschi who went on to engineer the dome of the Florence Cathedral.
When his first set of twenty-eight panels was completed, with help from his talented workshop, Ghiberti was commissioned to produce a second set – this time with scenes from the Old Testament.
Instead of 28 scenes, he instead produced the 10 rectangular scenes in a completely different style now known as “The Gates of Paradise”.