Essay, Research Paper: Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi(1377-1446) Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377 in Florence. He was the second son of three to Ser Brenellesco di Lippo Lapi who was a notary of some distinction and his mother was Giuliana Spini. He was a sculpture and goldsmith in his early years. His first attempt at architectural design was in 1401 in the famous competition for the Baptistery doors of the cathedral of Florence. Brunelleschi was one of six including Lorenzo Ghiberti to design a pair of bronze doors that depicted the biblical scenes of Abraham s sacrifice of Isaac in a bronze relief of quatrefoil shape. He lost that competition to Lorenzo Ghiberti. After his defeat he went on a sabbatical to Rome with his friend Donetello. Their Brunelleschi studied the ancient Roman architecture and also developed the revolutionary system of geometry called Linear Perspective. He developed this method so that he could keep a precise account of what he saw in terms of the ancient buildings of Rome. Many artisans used this method in the 15-century. I n 1419 he was in another competition. This time for the job of building the Florence Cathedral. The competition was between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. Its design was established + century earlier. Their job was to alter it only in details. Filippo Brunelleschi design so contrary to traditional practices impressed the authorities that he won. However Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were commissioned to do the work due to the vast size of the project and the many construction problems that the authorities felt they would have. Filippo Brunelleschi design included a dome. This was something that had not been done except for in small buildings. His proposal had a dome that spanned 140 feet. Without his broad knowledge of the principals of Roman construction, combined with his analytical and inventive mind, he would not have solved this problem that no other architect of the fifteenth-century could solve This problem was staggering. The space (140 feet) was something that you could not do with conventional construction techniques. Brunelleschi invented all new building methods and machinery. In stead of having building materials carried up on ramps to the desired level, Brunelleschi invented hoisting machines. The major problem facing Brunelleschi was how to support the weight of the dome. His solution was to have two separate shells, which were ingenuously linked to reinforce each other, rather than one solid mass. This made the total weight of the structure lighter. It was also less costly to build this way. His practices were pretty much unheard of during his time. This distinguishes him from the traditional Gothic stonemason architects with there time honored procedure.
Another one of Brunelleschi architectural achievemts was the rebuilding of the S. Lorenzo chruch. He was orignaly hired by the Medici family (a leadign banking and merchant family of his time) to build a sacristy (a room in a church housing the sacred vessels and vestments) so that the Medici family had there own burial chapel. However his designs were so successful that he was asked to redesign the whole church. His plan was not very extreme but it was extreme for those days. His design destinqueshes a new concept in symetry and regularity. The designs consist of square units. Four large squares form the chior. Other squares make up the isles. The chapel is attached to the trancept. The nave and the trancepts were to be twice as wide as the aisles and the chapel. In other words Brunelleschi created a group of abstract, spacing blocks. The larger ones being simple multipes of the standard unit. No one has ever done this before to a church. It was completely revolutionary for his time. This was a radiacl depature from the typical Gothic architecture of his time. The interior gives you the impression of static order and just intimadates you when you think of churches today. The columns of S. Lorenzo are different from the columns of that day. They were wider and circular where as most of the colums were square. The colums were also much larger and spaced much more clostly together. Also Brunelleschi used arches, which was rarely done in churches and architecture before his time.In conclusion Brunelleschi was a daring genious. He was willing to take on and solve problems that no other person had done before him. He was also willing to invent new things without fear of ridicule. His mathmatical concepts are still in use today. His architectural achievements where great and vast. He is considered by many to be the person who stated the renaissance in architectural and from what I have read about him, I believe this to be true. Bibliography Title: History of Art Author: H.W. JansonCopy Right: 1995 Pages used: 444-448 Title: Art Through The AgesAuthor: Horst De La Croix, Richard G. Tansey, and Diane KirkpatrickCopy Right : 1991Pages Used: 592-597 Title: Arts & Humanities Arts: Fillippo Brunelleschi Author: Cahn RobertPublication: Library JournalPublication Date: Sep 1, 1990Pages Used: 218 Title: The Florence Guide To Art Author: Gloria ChiariniWeb Page Address: http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/hogui.htmNote: I only used her pictures