Analysis Of The Gates Of Paradise

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Lorenzo Ghiberti. ‘The Gates of Paradise’. 1457 Gilded Bronze Relief Panels. 21”x171/2”. Museo dell 'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy
Lorenzo Ghiberti’s masterwork, the “Gates of Paradise” is comprised of 10 gilded bronze relief panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament which were the centerpiece of a pair of bronze doors for the east side of Florence’s Baptistery. Ghiberti used a combination of intuitive and linear perspective to tell a story in each panel. Each story is comprised of many scenes with the largest and highest relief figures located in the foreground and the shallowest relief and correspondingly smaller figures in the background. Three of the panels (Jacob and Essau, Joseph and Solomon and the Queen of Sheba) incorporate major architectural elements convincingly rendered with the use of linear perspective.
Linear perspective, also called scientific perspective, is a ‘magic formula’ which allows the artist to recreate a three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface that appears realistic and accurate to the human eye. (Harris, Zucker). This method is generally considered to have been developed by Brunelleschi in 1420 and documented in a book, On Painting by Leon Battista Albertini in 1435. The method uses intersecting lines to guide the artist in accurately expressing perspective.
The first element of linear perspective is the horizon which as the name suggests, is a horizontal line that cuts across the frame at approximately the eye level of the viewer. This horizon line extends beyond the frame of the ‘window’ or canvas. Next is the vanishing point, typically a single point on the horizon line to which all lines will ‘vanish’ as they recede into the distance. Depending upon the ...

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...ng of Tabitha’ are two fine examples of the use of linear perspective in Renaissance painting.
Ghiberti’s ‘Gates of Paradise’ have been restored, removed from their place in the doors, and replaced by copies. They are now viewable as individual panels, sealed for their protection, and located in Florence in the Museo dell 'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. Fortunately for us, it is not necessary to travel to Florence to view Ghiberti’s masterpiece. Excellent casts of the originals are viewable right next door to Santa Cruz in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.

Works Cited
Harris, B. and Zucker. How One-Point Linear Perspective Works.Video KhanAcademy. Web. 2-25-14
Kane, D. Science in the Art of the Italian Renaissance I: Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise- Linear Perspective and Space. The Ohio Journal of Science. Vol.102. No.5 (December, 2002). Pp.110-112. Web. 2-24-14

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