The Doorway to Paradise

Imagine working on a single project for 27 years straight, then having Michelangelo say the work is good enough to exist in paradise. This was the experience of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who created Florence Cathedrals famous baptistry doors called the

, replicas of which are on display at BYUs Museum of Art (MOA). On March 6, Associate Professor Elliott Wise (Eucharistic and Liturgical Imagery) gave a lecture at the MOA entitled Sacred Symbolism in the Gates of Paradise, explaining the origin of these historic doors and the way they symbolically point to Christ.

The original doors are preserved in the

in Florence, Italy. They were created during the Italian Renaissance, a time when Italy was comprised of self-governing cities that spoke different dialects of Italian. This diversity created rivalries, with cities like Florence trying to outdo all of its neighbors. Spurred on by this competitive spirit, Florence built a spectacular cathedral as an expression of the depth of devotion of the Florentine people, Wise said.

As part of the building process, a major guild held a contest to find an artist to create the most beautiful doors possible for the baptistry, a separate building adjacent to the cathedral. It was Lorenzo Ghiberti who won the competition and the commission for the doors.

In 1984, BYUHawaii acquired a plaster cast of the doors, which was brought to Provo in 2016. The MOA has spent the past 10 years restoring the cast and adding a gold leaf finish to replicate the glory of the iconic bronze doors.

Ghibertis

contain 10 panels, each displaying a scene from the Old Testament. The first panel is a depiction of the story of Adam and Eve, with a number of scenes all coalesced into one, Wise said.

On the right of the panel is an image of Adam being created from the dust, with God grasping his hand. There is a second depiction of Adam in the middle of the panel, lying on the ground with his feet crossed, symbolizing Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. With Adam reclined, Eve is created from his side. God takes Eves hand in a way that is representative of marriage, evoking Christs analogy of the church as His bride. Just as Eve is born from Adams side and becomes his wife, explained Wise, so too the church is born from the side of Christ and becomes His wife.

Each panel depicts some form of waterin Adam and Eves panel, for example, a stream flows through the garden of Eden. Wise explained that Ghiberti incorporated water so prominently in the doors because this is a baptistry, and it is a collection of images that prophesy what baptism points to: a life aligned with Christ.

The baptistry is dedicated to John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, who famously foretold: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In Christian art, John the Baptist is recognizable because he is always pointing, and that action is symbolic of his prophecy. These baptistry doors, the

, are facing the cathedral, pointing with a series of images that are prophecies from the Old Testament to the Lamb of God, just as John the Baptist did.

These symbol-ridden doors serve as a visual prophecy of the fulfillment of all things in Christ. Through all 10 panels, Ghiberti demonstrated how God prepared the world for His Sons mission on the earth. The doors are invitations, Wise said, for viewers to look at the images and see in them shadows for the coming of the Lamb of God.

The doors will be on display until October 2026. Click here to learn more about this exhibit from the MOAs website.