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The main sculptural features of the portal are three figures in the lunette above the entrance (of which only two, the Virgin and Child and San Petronio, are by Quercia), five upright scenes from the Genesis on each of the lateral supports, and five oblong scenes from the life of Christ running across the lintel.
The five scenes on the right lateral support of the main portal of San Petronio are, from top to bottom, the (i) Sacrifices of Cain and Abel, (ii) Cain killing Abel, (iii) Disembarking from Noah's Ark, (iv) Drunkenness of Noah, and (v) Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham.
As a group, the Old Testament panels are carved in lower relief than those in the lintel and are higher rather than wider, thus allowing the heroic nude figure to dominate the relief field. Although relatively small in size, Jacopo's figures give the impression of monumentality.
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