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How did landscape and architecture create an illusion of depth in the Gates of Paradise?

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Bronze self-portrait of Lorenzo Ghiberti in relief, set within ornate floral and geometric decoration on the Gates of Paradise at the Florence Baptistery. — Lorenzo Ghiberti Self-portrait by Lorenzo Ghiberti, detail from *Gates of Paradise*, 1425–52; gilded bronze doors formerly on the east side of the Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence, and now on display in Opera del Duomo Museum, Florence.

In the Gates of Paradise, Lorenzo Ghiberti achieved a remarkable illusion of depth by moving away from the neutral backgrounds used in his earlier work. Instead, he treated the ground plane as a space that suggests sky and distance.1

To create this effect, Ghiberti placed his classically modeled figures within carefully composed landscapes or perspectivally rendered architecture. By mastering linear perspective, he was able to organize these architectural and natural elements to guide the viewer's eye, effectively suggesting a depth to the relief panels that is far greater than their physical thickness. This approach allowed the reliefs to function almost like paintings, successfully bridging the gap between two-dimensional imagery and three-dimensional sculpture.21