Imagine spending more than 20 years of your life crafting a set of doors, and beginning that daunting project when you're just 21 years old. But the result is perhaps the most beautiful doors that have ever been made. Then think of how many artists these doors inspired, including the great Michelangelo, who called them "The Gates of Paradise".
Of course I'm referring to the east doors of the Florence Baptistery which stands immediately beside the wonderful Duomo Cathedral. It's a separate structure and one of the oldest buildings in Florence dating to the late 11th century. Back then you had to be baptized before you could enter the cathedral, including people like Dante and the Medici family. The door panels (so beautifully crafted in the early 15th century by Ghiberti) are among the first works of art to give the illusion of 3d on a 2d surface. After hundreds of years of exposure to the elements, the original doors were removed and now reside in the Duomo museum (but the excellent detailed reproductions you see in these photos have taken their place and have the same breathtaking effect).
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