The Grace Cathedral in San Francisco

During the California gold rush in 1849, the Grace Cathedral, a historic Episcopal cathedral in San Francisco, was constructed. The cathedral's doors that mimic the Gates of Paradise and its medieval architectural design are well known. A renowned sculptor by the name of Lorenzo Ghiberti spent twenty-seven years (1425–1452) creating the ancient gates of paradise. The doors were thus designated as the primary entrance door for the main gate of the Baptistry of Florence. Due to its historical significance and aesthetic appeal, a man by the name of Michelangelo Buonarrotti dubbed the three-ton, seven-foot-tall bronze door the Gates of Paradise. Therefore, it is evident that the gates of paradise are a unique masterpiece that marks the Renaissance of Italian art history.

Cultural context for the Gates of Paradise

The gates of paradise as named by Michelangelo are a significant artifact that reveals important and new findings explored by Lorenzo. The doors have five panels on each wing, and the first three wings provide reliefs of some of the subjects in the Old Testament, who are Adam and Eve, Jacob and Essau, and David and Goliath. These subjects remind the Christians and the society regarding the ancient historical events and its revelation to the society. In addition, the artistic works done by Lorenzo marks as the cultural bridge or the point of disparity between the medieval artwork and the modern artwork. The visitors of the Gates of paradise tend to understand the cultural setup that existed in the ancient era and how different that culture is from the modern society. All this is vividly depicted by the several subjects displayed in each panel of the doors.

Who was commissioned to complete the doors?

Lorenzo Ghiberti was the main sculptor who was commissioned in 1425 to design the doors. This work took him twenty-seven years to complete, and upon completion in 1452, the bronze doors became a masterpiece that made Michelangelo name them the gates of paradise.

How the doors connect with the competition of the sacrifice of Isaac between Filippo and Lorenzo

The connection between the doors and the competition occurred through the search for the sculptor that will design the third door in the North Wing. The first and the second doors were made by a sculptor named Andrea Pisano during the fourteenth century. After its completion, the City of Florence organized a competition for the search of the next sculptor who will design the third door in the North wing. Among the participants in the competition were Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti where Lorenzo emerged the winner. After completing the North-wing doors, Lorenzo was automatically given the task of designing the east wing doors, which turned out to be the most beautiful. Therefore, it is through the competition that Lorenzo got the chance to create the East gate.

Choosing a panel from the door that I like and how it resembles the Early Italian Renaissance

From the ten panels, I like the panel with the story of David and Goliath. This panel describes an interesting story of David and how he killed Goliath. I like this panel because of the specific story of David, which is my favorite story from the bible. Furthermore, my interest in the ancient-wars makes me prefer the panel since it demonstrates the nature of war that existed in the early century.

How the panel resembles the early Italian Renaissance

This panel signifies the Great Italian wars, also referred to the Renaissance wars that occurred during the fourteenth century. During this era, the Italian society engaged in a series of wars with the aim of protecting their territory against invaders. The panel of David and Goliath marks a similar illustration where several men are seen fighting and David is holding a sword to kill Goliath. Therefore, this denotes the renaissance war that existed in Italy in the early century.

Stylistic characteristics that make it an example of this period style

One major stylistic characteristic is the use of relief sculpture, which is a technique that elevates objects above the ground. This technique was commonly used by the Roman sculptors thus making the doors as part of this period style. The other characteristic is the use of bronze, which was a common material used for artwork. From the use of such elements, it is evident that the artwork designed by Lorenzo was an ancient Italian work.