Santa Maria Del Fiore Research Paper

In the early Renaissance era Florence and Siena were rivals in many aspects. The Battle of Montaperti was fought between the two in September of 1260. After their triumph over Florence, Siena used the monetary winnings for the building of the Palazzo Pubblico to serve the city in governmental, spiritual and social needs; it was comparable to the basilicas in ancient Rome in this aspect. The Palazzo Pubblico (fig. 1) was also made to compete with Florence’s already constructed Palazzo della Signoria1 (fig. 2). The city also focused the new funds on the elaboration of the cathedral interior (fig. 3). In 1308, Duccio di Buoninsegna was hired for this reason. Duccio completed the requested polyptych, or multipaneled, altarpiece three years

From my trip to the art museum the piece which stood out the most to me throughout the entire experience was David Ghirlandaio’s Altarpiece showing the Virgin and Child, with Saints Apollonia and Sebastian. The work of art specifically depicts an example of a sacra conversazione such as the ones we have looked at in class. This piece was made specifically in the 1490’s or the Early Renaissance time period and directly came from Florence, Italy where it was commissioned by the church as an altarpiece. Ghirlandaio specifically used tempera and gold on panel for this painting which he made in his family enterprise. Overall, the painting is roughly five and a half feet in length and height and is an excellent example of the type of works one would expect to see out of the Early Renaissance time frame.

The Big House, the largest prehistoric native American structure in North America, is a four-story building constructed by ancient Sonoran Desert people, the Hohokam. The Hohokam were native American tribes that vanished in the 1400’s leaving behind archaeological evidence of a sophisticated culture revealing advanced canal systems, and the “Casa Grande,” a big house in the Sonoran Desert valley. Missionary, explorer and mapmaker Eusibio Francisco Kino, was the first European to discover the site in 1694 and named it “Casa Grande”. After the railroad came through in 1879, travelers would scratch their names into the walls, some took artifacts, even pieces of the wall were taken as souvenirs. In 1889, Congress voted to take action to protect the site from vandalism and looting. It has been protected since 1892 by the General Land Office and then it was transferred to the National Park Service in 1918. This

Their most glorious architectural accomplishment was the cathedral. Cathedrals, made of stone, were only established in rich and powerful cities, because they were very expensive. They boasted the city’s wealth, and demonstrated how important God was to their community. Cathedrals took hundreds of years, and thousands of people to construct. They were shaped like a cross, and were often the tallest building in that city.

One of the world’s most famous architects and engineers was born in the Italian city state of Florence sometime in 1377. Although he had a huge influence on building design and construction, and on art, we don’t know a lot about Filippo Brunelleschi’s early life. Nonetheless, he left buildings and artwork that still exist today, and he had two biographers who provided information about his work, from these we can learn a lot about this Renaissance genius. His most important work, the ll Duomo di Firenze (the Dome of the Florence Cathedral), was finished in 1436 and remains as one of the greatest symbols of the period. Before he started building this revolutionary structure, Brunelleschi studied the architecture of Roman buildings and monuments.

Another one of Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpieces known as Pieta was created between 1498 and 1499. This masterpiece was displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Pieta depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son, Jesus Christ after His crucifixion. Like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture David, his masterpiece Pieta has also been re-created many times by other painters and sculptors.

This statue in constructed out of marble and is 69 inches tall. This sculpture was made when Cardinal Bilheres de Lagraulas asked him to do a statue that depicted the Virgin Mary holding her dead son in her arms. Lagraulas wanted this piece finished in order for it to be placed by his own tomb and so with this commission, Michelangelo created another incomparable masterpiece. This piece of artwork is another one of his well-known pieces and brings in thousands of visitors to see it each year, even though it has been completed for a few hundred

A distinctive feature of Florence's skyline is the dome of the cathedral (Duomo), Santa Maria del Fiore. The building itself, located due north of the Piazza della Signoria, was begun by the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. Numerous local artists continued to work on it during the following century and a half. The painter Giotto designed its sturdy bell tower (campanile) in 1334. Yet, the massive octagonal cupola (1420-36) that truly dominates both the church and the city was the proud achievement of Filippo Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor. Opposite the cathedral stands the Baptistery; the building dates from the 11th century but was believed by Florentines to be a surviving Roman monument when they commissioned for it a series

The Metropolitan Art Museum has a multitude of art galleries that hold a variety of art pieces that have their own share of stories. The artwork that I chose to dig into the story of is a piece that the museum credits to have been done by the High Renaissance artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti, himself. This particular work is a type of sculpture in which the figures is shown in a three-dimensional form, or freestanding sculpture, that is standing at a height and width of 37 x 13 ¼ and is made purely out of Carrara marble. The statue appears to no more than a young man, comparable to a putti, standing in the contrapposto position which gives it a certain look of

The city of Florence, Italy had commissioned for a cathedral to built. “Florence had become one of the leading cities in Europe. It had substantial wealth and a fast growing population. To accommodate this population for religious ceremonies . . . and to demonstrate the power of the city the construction of a major cathedral was undertaken. The body of the cathedral was completed in 1367. However, it had no dome or spire - it simply had a 42 meter wide hole in the chancel roof. . .For 50 years there was no progress until Brunelleschi was appointed in 1417.” The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Because of his genius, the work of art was chosen as the symbol of the Republic of Florence. It was carved in a huge block of marble that remained abandoned for more than forty years after suffering damage just in its basis in a previous attempt (Michelangelo took advantage of that just creating an empty espace between Davi's feet). Several artists had fought for the honor of doing that, including Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea Sansovino. Michelangelo was responsible for the task due to its already established reputation for brilliant sculptor because of his Bacchus and the Pieta. Michelangelo got one of the most beautiful representations of the human body in the history of art. The sculpture represents a colossal teenager, 16.9 feet in height.

Duomos, or Cathedrals in Italian, are some of the most beautiful, inspiring, and mysterious marks in Italian history. There are more than thirty notable Duomos that contain stunning artwork, most are highly decorated and some could even be considered artwork themselves. “One of the most beautiful Duomos in Italy is Siena Cathedral of Santa Maria” (Myrabella). The Duomo of Siena is considered one of the most beautiful because it is lined with many pieces of art. From its facades (front facing exterior wall), to the bell tower, the architecture is a statement in itself. The ceiling, the sides of the walls, and even the floor is covered in masterful pieces of work.

The area where the cathedral now stands was originally occupied by the ancient Metropolitan Church of the city under the title Saint Maria Maggiore in 836 (Boldorini 5).The name of the first architect of the Milan cathedral is not exactly known (Boldorini 5). In 1386, Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, began the restoration project using the Gothic style after severe damage to the building (Benigni). In total, there are 6,000 statues inside and outside the cathedral, with 2,000 of them being a part of the exterior embellishments (Benigni). The design or layout of the interior of the church is that of a Latin cross, and

Dating all the way back to the Aqaba Church, possibly the oldest religious-purposed building constructed in 300 CE, and having ever since been widespread across the globe, religious buildings are renowned for their religious aspect. It wasn’t until the Romanesque period, beginning around 1000 CE, that cathedrals started to appear all over Europe. Over the centuries, cathedrals underwent minor and major changes to their appearance in accordance to the architectural style of that era. Many retained the physical characteristics and attributes that are still visible in their structure today and though it may be the case that many cathedrals erected in Europe have similar or identical characteristics, many buildings also have distinctable attributes that sets them apart from each other due to special special circumstances. Three unique cases of this happening would be the Toledo Cathedral of Spain, the Salisbury Cathedral of England and the Amiens Cathedral of France. While all three gothic cathedrals were constructed around the same time thus reflecting on their similarities, the context as to why and how they were constructed gave way to certain differences as well. Often, cathedrals are built on open grounds that have yet to be claimed for another project, but from war and conflicts cathedrals could take a much more aggressive approach and actively take sacred land already belonging to another religion, such is the case for the Toledo Cathedral.

Proportion was the main element that differentiated the Medieval architecture style from the style of the Renaissance. Architects applied numerous humanist principles to their buildings and structures. Evidence of the architectural progress during the Renaissance is Filippo Brunelleschi’s famous dome at the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy. The eight-sided dome was an overall achievement of engineering and took him over 16 years to complete. Filippo Brunelleschi’s interest in the Pantheon, a temple of Roman architecture commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, inspired Brunelleschi to study the engineering of it. This essential information, collected and learned by Brunelleschi, was used effectively when assembling the dome. The structure itself was approximately 44 metres across and it weighed 37 thousand tonnes. As well as the dome, Filippo Brunelleschi invented machines to help him during the building process, and he significantly designed the first reverse gear machine. Not only was this an incredible and well-known construction by Brunelleschi, but it is evident that he applied several elements and practices, including shapes, columns and specifically proportion, adapted from the classical Roman culture to his own structures.