Art History: Filippo Brunelleschi Scuptor and Architect of the Renaissance Period

The Renaissance occurred in Europe between 1400 and 1600. This event began in Italy during the Medieval period and then expanded to the rest of Europe, marking the start of the Modern age. The Renaissance began in Florence Italy in the 14th century. It was a cultural movement that had an enormous impact in Europe during the early modern period. The Renaissance’s influenced politics, science, literature, art, philosophy, religion, music, and other aspects. Around the 13th century in Italy started the Renaissance’s art influence. Leonardo da Vinci, was known as the "Renaissance man," because of his art masterpieces and his studies in other fields during this time. Italy wasn’t a political concept in the

In the past, many men in the field of architecture have become famous for their works, especially in the time of the Renaissance in Italy. These men included Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, and, perhaps the most important of all, Andrea Palladio. Widely regarded as the most influential and famous architect in the Western world, Andrea Palladio was “the last of the great Humanist architects” (Trachtenburg, 2002, p. 311). Since it is impossible to encompass all of Palladio’s accomplishments in one single essay, this paper will aim to give a detailed overview of Andrea’s early life, influences, greatest works, and his Palladian following.

Filippo Brunelleschi was a genius at not only architecture, but at sculpture, woodcarving, drawing, and clock making. When the priests in Florence, Italy in 1418 were deciding on what they were going to do with the big hole they had in the roof of their cathedral, Brunelleschi volunteered to be the architect (King, 2013). His motivation was to help the church, however, he also knew that this would allow him to have never ending fame and a big salary once the job was complete. Even though he would not reveal his plan on how he would accomplish this extraordinary task, they accepted his as the supervisor of this great project.

Paul Robert Walker writes the novel, almost biography, by the name of The Feud That Sparked The Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed The Art World. The book opens with history of Italy and the many epidemics of the bubonic plague that hit with strong force. He states that many of the artists in Italy at the time were brought to a large competition to make a new set of sculpted doors for the St. John’s Chapel where John the Baptist is said to have baptized followers of Jesus. Lorenzo Ghiberti won the competition due to his higher skill in the craft; however, the judges also kept Brunelleschi’s door panel as second place. After the competition, Brunelleschi, who feels distraught and defeated, begins a new career as an architect, and studies the laws of perspective.

In addition to his lack of communication, another setback of Brunelleschi’s technique was the poor working environment. The culture of the business created during the building of the dome was not a worker friendly one, with no benefits or accommodations given to the workers. There was no set of directions but rather, workers ‘went with the flow’ as Brunelleschi gave directions on the fly. This was a disadvantage to his progress because things may be forgotten without realizing their importance and crucial role to the project.

Brunelleschi was aiming to achieve to build the world's best Dome. He invented his way to success as he solved one of the greatest architectural problems. He was a man with a great ambition and has left a great legacy that even after 600 years American and European architects will follow in his footsteps. His Dome still dominates the horizon of Florence today, as it remains as a long lasting legacy to a very great architect.

Among the great artists of this period was Filippo Brunelleschi, a true "renaissance man." This young artist, initially trained as a goldsmith, competed in a contest to test the skill of artists in creating bronze works to adorn the doors of te Florence Cathedral baptistery. Bunelleschi's initial work was a powerful, emotional, raw rendition of Abraham's sacrifice of his son, Isaac. His work exhibited extreme skill and conveyed the story in an explosive manner, leading him to the final round of this competition. While his biographer claims that Brunelleschi forfeited the commission to the other competitor after being asked to share the responsibility, the truth behind this statement is not known. It is, however, known that he will forever be regarded for one of his greatest masterpieces of all time... the dome of the Florence cathedral. The development of the Cathedral was delayed, as no architect could quite solve the problem of how to safely, effectively construct the massive dome. Brunelleschi solved this issue by creating an intricate set of interlocking vertical and horizontal ribs, also creating a temporary support system that could be

In Italy during 1418 the Florentine fathers announced a contest for the ideal dome design with the prize of 200 gold florins. One of the candidates was a goldsmith named Filippo Brunelleschi who promised to build not just one dome but two domes. When Brunelleschi was a boy he had mastered drawing and painting, wood carving, sculpture in silver and bronze, stone setting, niello, and enamel work. And later he study optics and tinkered with wheels, gears, and weights and motion, building a number of ingenious clocks including what may have been one of the first clocks in history. The first problem was purely technical because in those times there was no lifting mechanisms capable to lift heavy materials like the dome. Brunelleschi made a

A contest was designed to encourage the greatest architects to create plans for what the cathedral’s ceiling would look like. Ultimately, an artist named Filippo Brunelleschi won, and was responsible for the building of the Duomo in Florence. Upon first glance, the building of the Duomo may not strike people as a monumental or important event in history. However, it is important to remember the Duomo was constructed in Florence, where flying buttresses -an architectural design that carried the weight of roofs on large buildings to the ground- were illegal. Construction of the Duomo took place from 1420 to 1436, and required Brunelleschi to engineer a support system for the roof, previously thought impossible. Traveling back to the Italian Renaissance would allow me to witness architectural history. I would be able to observe Brunelleschi’s imagination come to life, question his methods of thinking, and watch the development of the Duomo create new opportunities for architects in the

Brunelleschi spent his early years studying art and linear relationships. He also spent 15 years studying the secrets of Roman architecture. Investigations reveal he incorporated this knowledge into the construction of the dome with the use of inverted arches for the walls, and the “spina pesce” (herringbone) pattern of brickwork used in the dome, which directed the weight of the bricks

Brunelleschi solved a problem that was huge in the year 1418 in Florence, Italy.  There was a cathedral that had begun to be built, that no one knew how to finish.  The top of the building was needing to be covered, but due to its octagonal shape, the height of the building (which was already built), and originality of the building no one had any idea how to go about completing the roof.  So a contest was put out to the city, many came forward with ideas on how to finish the building.  Two big worries of the leaders of the city were cost of materials and the weight of the roof.  Brunelleschi, came forward with a design that would alleviate much cost, compared to his competitors, and he was certain would not cave in.  Many discoveries were made

One of the greatest stories from the Italian Renaissance is the one of Fillipo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. In 1401, the directors of the art of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral held a contest for artists; to create panels for a the doors on the east entrance (Kleiner, 560-2). Because the east doors faced the cathedral, the people thought it extremely prestigious to be able to participate in such a massive creation. After the first competition round, two finalists remained; Brunelleschi, an accomplished and experienced artist, and Ghiberti, a younger artist, but one with just as much talent. The two competitors were required to create a panel (or square) of Abraham readying to sacrifice Issac. Before reading which was which,

Brunelleschi was a “hot-head” and knew he was a genius. His pride badly influenced the judge’s impression of him and his plan. The competition grew tedious, but Brunelleschi was persistent and knew his idea would work. He was known for being a genius, because “As a boy, during his goldsmith’s apprenticeship, he had mastered drawing and painting, wood carving, sculpture in silver and bronze, stone setting, niello, and enamel work” (Mueller, 2014). With much consent, and much convincing, the Florentine Fathers gave Brunelleschi a chance to prove his ideas. His plan was this: He wanted to construct two domes, one within another. This would be done to minimize the scaffolding and the weight distribution. He would then support the inner dome and with bindings (much like a wooden barrel has) around using metal, stone and wood. After, to minimize the weight of the dome, he would then use more porous rock (like volcanic rock) after building for 46 feet. His plan required no timber scaffolding, and no supports that would be based inside the

During the late Fifteenth, the number of woodcarvers were more prevalent than butchers (“Patrons and Artist in Late 15th-Century Florence”). This example indicates that art was a more prioritized commodity than meat, which subsequently means artists were greatly valued. People who treasured art ranged from upper class to middle class, or lower class (“Patrons and Artist in Late 15th-Century Florence”). Much of the artists that were called by patrons in the courts because their projects came from southern Netherland cities such as: Burges, Brussels, Ghent, and Toumai (Davies et al. 476). Apparently, the patrons harbored a lot of jealousy of the unique status their artistic charges, that of independency in addition to the privileges

The Renaissance time period was home to many new ideas in art. This includes new artists bringing forth ideas that had yet to be discovered and made popular. New themes and types of art were also being brought forward during this period.