# Porta del Paradiso: Self-Portrait [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GHIBERTI, Lorenzo]() - Date: 1401-1450 - Technique: Gilded bronze ## Commentary Already on the north door of the Baptistery Ghiberti had introduced a self-portrait among the tiny heads in high relief at the corners of each plaque. He did it once again later, on the Porta del Paradiso, where he appears among the heads of prophets which alternate with statues of biblical personages in the framework of the door. Here we can observe close up the remarkable skill of the metal sculptor. In the earlier portrait on the north door, his face is still young and not particularly individualized, still very much subservient to antique models. Here, however, the depiction is entirely realistic, and Ghiberti portrays himself as the intellectual with prominent facial features and wrinkled brow. ## Related artworks - [Ascension]() - [Baptism of Christ \(detail\)]() - [Baptism of Christ]() - [Christ on the Mount of Olives]() - [Door of a Ciborium \(detail\)]() - [Door of a Ciborium]() - [Eastern Door of the Baptistery \(Porta del Paradiso\)]() - [Eastern Door of the Baptistery \(Porta del Paradiso\)]() - [Eastern Door of the Baptistery \(Porta del Paradiso\)]() - [Five studies]() - [North Doors \(Life of Christ\)]() - [North Doors \(Life of Christ\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()