Bishop Bernward Analysis

The doors of Bishop Bernward were commissioned by the Bishop around 1015 and feature sixteen different panels. Eight are from the Old Testament, and eight are from the New Testament. The doors are decorated with panels with representations of the Creation of Eve, the Presentation of Eve to Adam, the Temptation, the Fall, the Expulsion of Adam and Eve, the Labors of Adam and Eve, the Sacrifice of Abel and Cain, the Murder of Abel, the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation to Simeon, Christ before Pilate, the Crucifixion, the Maries at the Sepulchre and Christ appearing to St. Mary Magdalen. The events from Genesis leading up to and portraying the Fall of Man proceed in a downward direction, those which depict man's

The other side of the door also has eight panels and each panel depicts an event of the New Testament. The doors are very symmetrical and balanced. The panels create a grid-like pattern with two circular doorknobs. The scenes help to create a much more natural appearance and it can be viewed in a narrative manner. The figures give a sense of naturalism, and stand on a visible ground line. The background is simplified and stylized and helps the figures stand out. Each side of the doors was cast into one piece of bronze using a process called lost-wax. The craftsmen modeled his sculpture in wax over a core and then the caster made a mold with vents at the top and bottom so when they poured in the molten metal, the wax melted and ran out at the bottom. After it cooled, the mold is broken away. It is a very difficult process and if it worked, the metal had the same form as the original wax sculpture..The doors measure 16 feet 6 inches in height. The panel depicting the Expulsion of Adam and Eve is one of the most interesting to me. Through Adam and Eve's body language, you are able to understand the story better than through their facial expressions and the carving tells the story through body positions and body