The North Doors
The Florence baptistery was constructed in the octagon shape to symbolize the six days of creation, the resting day and the day of recreation. The artwork on the North doors of the baptistery of the Florence Duomo was done by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The artist spent twenty one years in making the great doors (1425-1452). Lorenzo Ghiberti was born in 1378 and died in 1455. The doors are made of the main sculptural complex that depicts the Gothic style (Boskovits 112). There are impressive faces depicting the common faces of the Italian elegant draperies and the ancient roman arts. The art of the doors were in the form of sculpture modified in different phases and included a massive pictorial expression. The doors consist of twenty-eight panels; the first twenty panels depict instances in the life of Jesus right from the annunciation till the performance of miracles. The lower eight doors symbolize the saints (Boskovits 342).
After the completion of the north doors, the doors were shifted from the east to the north after the finishing of the “Gates of Paradise.” The doors were meant to celebrate the favor of God to Florence from disasters such as the Black Death (Boskovits 224).
The East Doors
The east doors were constructed in the second commission of Lorenzo Ghiberti. The doors consisted of ten panels that symbolized events in the Old Testament. The panels consisted of larger rectangular shapes and consisted of the contemporary principles discovered in arts. Each panel showed a comprehensive story for instance, the story of Joseph and his activities such as dream interpretations to King Pharaoh. There is a massive use of different techniques in sculpture such as disturbed relief together with flat straight lines (Boskovits 516).
The South Doors
The South Doors is the work of Andrea Pisano in 1330. Andrea Pisano lived between 1290 and 1348, lived in Florence and made several masterpieces. The doors consisted of two valves each containing fourteen squares in the shape and made of bronze. There are twenty panels at the top and eight below in the valves (Boskovits 144). The top panels symbolize the life of John the Baptist in a chronological order. The reading proceeds from top to bottom and the reading range from left to right similar to following a normal page in books. The remaining eight panels symbolized the eight virtues. The south doors were initially located on the east part of the baptistery facing the Duomo. Leonardo d'Avanzano was renowned smith for competence in bronze work, in Europe and modelled the bronze doors in six years. The doors were later transferred to their current location in 1658 (Boskovits 556).
Works Cited
Boskovits, Miklós. The Mosaics of the Baptistery of Florence. Florence, Italy: Giunti, 2007. Print.
