"The Gates of Paradise" Gilded Bronze Sculpture

"The Gates of Paradise" Gilded Bronze Sculpture
This piece is VERY HEAVY weighing over 100 lbs. Height: 29" Width: 22" Depth: 7" This large multi-media sculpture is an exquisite replica of the infamous original doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti in Florence, Italy. The doors are gold gilded with intricate detail and can be opened and closed. The sculpture is set upon a marble base with bronze-cased wooden doors. Condition: Very good when viewing the front. Latches on the back of the doors to hold them closed have detached but the doors can still be secured. This work was originally purchased at The Peter Bazzanti & Son Gallery in Florence, Italy, and comes with its wooden crate. Michelangelo likened the gilded bronze doors of Florence's Baptistery of San Giovanni to the "Gates of Paradise." The phrase stuck, for reasons that anyone who has seen them will understand. Combining a goldsmith's delicacy with a foundryman's bravura, sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti condensed the Old Testament into ten panels to produce one of the defining masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. Since their installation in 1452, the doors have withstood a variety of near-biblical catastrophes: a torrential flood, vandalism, overzealous polishing and caustic air pollution. The Gates, located on the Baptistery of Florence showcases Ghiberti's skill in creating realistic figures and his innovative use of perspective.