The Doors and History

The Memorial Doors

Historical Significance of Doors

Doorways are often used to represent transition, the passage between one place or state of being and the next. This might be childhood to adulthood, for instance; leaving one part of life behind, moving on to another; the threshold between one place and another.

But 'Doorways' can symbolize so much more. 

Throughout history the raised panels on doors have been used to tell stories.  The term bas-relief pronounced bah-relief, originally stems from the Italian phrase basso-relievo which directly translates to low relief. Artists create a bas-relief by sculpting onto a 2D plane to create and accentuate figures and objects, producing a 3D appearance which can be viewed from all angles with little distortion.

Examples of bronze bas-relief doors

  • Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence

    Italy all art history classes, from high school to freshman surveys in large universities to in-depth courses at art school, they always talk about the Gates of Paradise. They were designed by the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti for the north entrance of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, Italy. The doors are said to be the most significant work among early renaissance sculptures that had inspired other doors that tell stories of loss, justice, and change.

  • House Bronze Doors, US Capitol Building

    The bronze doors of the House wing are comparable to those in the Senate. Each valve consists of three panels and a medallion depicting significant events in American history.