The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Gilded
doors with panels depicting scenes from religious lore – I have so far seen
them only in temples. Therefore, it came as a surprise to know that churches in
Europe had gilded doors too, representing scenes from the Bible! Thankfully, I
didn’t need to make a trip to Europe to see them, but just had to make a visit
to our very own Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, to get a glimpse of the
‘Gates of Paradise’, as this particular one is called!
The Gates
of Paradise are the doors which graced the East entrance to the Florence
Baptistry. This is a minor Basilica in Florence, Italy, and is an octagonal
structure which stands right across the Florence Cathedral. Of course, we had
to imagine the actual structure from the depictions and photographs at the museum,
but the door itself is an exact replica of the original, and stands right at
the entrance, towering over all the displays.
These doors
are the handiwork of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who won a contest where his design was
selected. Ghiberti was a young man of 21 when he won the commission, and it
took him 21 years to complete the work! The doors were finished in 1452, and
installed in the Baptistry, facing the magnificent cathedral opposite it. They get
their nickname from none other than Michelangelo, who was so impressed by their
beauty that he said they were fit to grace the entrance to paradise!
The doors
guarded the entrance of the Baptistry for centuries, bearing the vagaries of
nature, but the flood of 1966 caused them so much damage that they were removed,
and, efforts began, to restore them to their former glory. The restoration work
once again took over two decades, and the originals are now preserved in a dry
environment at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of the Duomo's
art and sculpture. Meanwhile, exact copies were also made, one of which now
graces the Baptistry, while others are exhibited in museums across the world.
If you
(like we did) are wondering why these doors are so special, the answer lies in
the detail depicted on the panels. Normally, the panels together tell us a
story, but here, each panel tells us a story, with multiple depictions within
the same panel! Also, the intricate manner in which these stories are depicted,
and the multiple layers achieved, all using the lost wax technique add to the
beauty as well as importance of these doors! Take a look at this one for
instance – the top left panel…
It tells us
the story of Adam and Eve starting with God creating Adam (look closely at the
bottom left), then the creation of Eve (centre), Eve being tempted by the
serpent (background, left), to Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of
Eden (right).
The same
holds true for every panel! Take a closer look at each of the panels, and see
if you can notice the sequential storytelling!
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| Cain and Abel |
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| Noah's Ark |
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| Abraham and Isaac |
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| Jacob and Esau |
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| Joseph |
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| Moses |
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| Joshua |
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| David and Goliath |
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| King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba |
I have only
mentioned the stories in the captions instead of elaborating on each one,
simply because this post is already long enough. If you want to get an in depth
understanding of these depictions, go over to this site, where you can see
excellent photographs, zoom into them and see all the details, along with the
story.
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| a Prophet, on the side |
Besides
these main panels, even the sides of the doors are decorated, with faces and
figures from Biblical stories and prophets.
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| Noah, depicted at the bottom |
Most
interestingly, Lorenzo Ghiberti has included himself among these figures, as
one of the door knobs, with his name etched on the side! A unique signature, wouldn’t
you agree?
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| The bust on the left is Ghiberti's self portrait. On the right is his son, Vittore Ghiberti, who assisted him in his work! |
Apart from
the Gates of Paradise, the exhibition also includes a set of photographs which
show us Florence of that period, and help us visualize the doors, as well as
the other exhibits, at the spaces they were made for.
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| Life size photograph of the North door. |
Besides,
the special projects gallery in the Museum Plaza has replicas of 5 restored panels
of the North door of the Baptistry, once again created by Lorenzo Ghiberti, as
well as 5 famed sculptures of the period, including Perseus with the head of
Medusa, the creation of Benvenuto Cellini.
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| Replicas of the north door panels, as they were, before the restoration |
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| Replica of one of the north door panels, after restoration. |
We spent
over two hours at the museum that day, admiring the beauty of the ancient work.
Interestingly, we would have missed this entire exhibition, but for the museum
extending their dates! Through the two months that the exhibition was on, we
were so busy that I was unable to visit. I had given up all hopes of ever
seeing it, when I heard of the exhibition being extended for another month, and
rushed to see it! We were also lucky that we landed up at the museum just in
time for the guided tour. Though I have been here many times, this is the first
time that I took the tour, and both, Samhith and I, really enjoyed it! The tour
wasn’t only about this special display, but about the entire museum. That,
however, calls for another post, so I shall contain myself for now!
Meanwhile,
if you still haven’t seen this exhibition, it is on till the 8th of
July, so go, see it!
Information;
- Location; The Museum is located within the grounds of the Veermata Jeejabai Udyan, or the Byculla zoo.
- How to get there: It is walking distance from the Byculla station. Plenty of buses also stop here.
- Timings: The museum is open from 10 AM to 6 PM, and is closed on Wednesdays and Public Holidays.
- Guided tour: The museum hosts a free guided tour on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) at 11:30 AM
- The Florentine Renaissance exhibition has been extended till the 8th of July, 2014.
- For more information, visit the Museum Website
do they allow photography inside the museum. last time when I went, i remember we had to leave our cameras outside. Anyways nice post.
ReplyDeleteYes, Balaka they do, now. And thanks.
DeletePhotographs are superb!
ReplyDeleteThank you, PNS!
DeleteWow, such an amazing set of photographs.. Getting to see this would have been one of a kind experience..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meghana! It was def a wonderful experience. U can still go see it tho.
Delete