Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo di Ser Brunellesco Lapi, known simply as Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - April 15, 1446), was an Italian Renaissance architect, sculptor, and goldsmith. He is known, above all, for his work on the dome of the Florence Cathedral Il Duomo. His deep knowledge of mathematics and his enthusiasm for this science paved the way for him in architecture, as well as leading him to the invention of conical perspective.

He was a contemporary of Leon Battista Alberti, Ghiberti, Donatello and Masaccio. Giorgio Vasari included Brunelleschi's biography in his work Life of the Greatest Italian Architects, Painters and Sculptors (Vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani, da Cimabue insino a& #39; tempi nostri, 1542–1550).

Brunelleschi and painting

His first great work was theoretical, since in 1434 he was the first to formulate the laws of conical perspective, a graphic representation system based on the projection of a volume onto a plane using projecting lines. It was a key element of Renaissance painting, as it is the representation that comes closest to real vision, being very similar to the image we perceive of objects.

Brunelleschi sculptor

Determined to earn a living as a sculptor, he participated in a competition that consisted of making the bas-reliefs on the doors of the Florence Baptistery, in 1401, in which the sacrifice of Isaac had to be represented within a multi-lobed frame; Abraham, Isaac, an angel, two servants with a donkey, firewood and a lamb or sheep had to appear. He was in second place, for not sticking to the bases and making an altar that seems to be carried by the donkey, in addition, Abraham's face appeared with an irritated expression; This fact made him lean towards architecture exclusively.

Brunelleschi architect

Filippo Brunelleschi was the initiator of Renaissance-style architecture, characterized by being a moment of rupture with respect to the preceding style: Gothic architecture, seeking its inspiration in an interpretation of classical art, which was considered the most perfect model of the beautiful Arts.

Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore

Cúpula de Santa Maria del Fiore, the Cathedral of Florence.

Section of the dome of the Cathedral of Florence.

The dome of the Florence Cathedral, or Saint Mary of the Flower, is his most famous and most controversial work. This huge dome not only stands out from the whole of the church but is also a visual reference throughout the city of Florence. The Florence Cathedral is Gothic and was carried out by Arnolfo di Cambio, but it was unfinished because the transept was not vaulted.

Due to the height of the building, the dome that covered said transept could not be totally hemispherical due to possible problems in the system of thrusts and counteracting forces. The solution carried out by Brunelleschi was a superposition of two octagonal vaults, one inside the other, which were made of brick, divided into sections as segments. This innovation allowed a distribution of efforts, in addition to achieving the sensation of lightness.

The distance between both domes is always constant. Due to its elongated cap, it is reminiscent of the Gothic. It is built on a factory polygonal drum, which would later be covered with marble, in which circular oculi were opened, which provide overhead lighting inside the transept. It is the first time that the well-defined structure of a dome offers the same appearance on the inside as on the outside.

Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)

Interior of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

Inspired by the early Christian basilicas that Brunelleschi studied, it is a temple with a Latin cross plan with three naves, planned under a 2-1 scheme, that is, with the tallest and widest central nave. Inside, the central nave has a flat coffered roof and the side naves are covered with a concatenation of vaults. The separation of the naves is established by columns of a composite order and on them a complete entablature in which each semicircular arch downloads, achieving greater height in a harmonious way. In the transept it had a dome as an enclosure.

Brunelleschi basically looks for two aspects in this church:

• Horizontality: using architectural elements that reinforce the sensation of horizontality, such as the entablaments, the flat roof of the central nave, etc.
• Harmony: sought harmony using geometric criteria. For example, it establishes cubic forms as the height of the columns is identical to the distance between adjacent columns and between these and the walls of the lateral ships. It introduces the theory of the visual pyramid, with which it achieves the visual harmony of the architectural elements, applying the linear perspective of escape.

The Basilica of the Holy Spirit is similar in style.

Facade of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-1444)

The Ospedale degli Innocenti (in Spanish Hospital of the Innocents) is a highly horizontal building. In the lower body there is a portico with semicircular arches on columns of compound order, which is visually independent from the rest of the construction. In the spandrels of the arches there are tondos or medallions with white figures (babies asking) on a blue background. It is the only figurative element, since Brunelleschi strips this façade of the Hospital de los Inocentes from the rest of the decorative elements.

Main works

Architecture

Staggia senese

Interior of the Pazzi Chapel.

• 1418-1434 - Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, in Florence
• 1419-1427 - Hospital de los Inocentes, Florence (completed by others)
• 1420 - Barbadori Chapel, Church of Santa Felicita, Florence
• ca. 1420 - Enlargement of the palace of Part Guelfa, Florence
• 1421-1426 - Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, Florence
• ca. 1421-1428 - Basilica of Saint Lawrence of Florence, Florence (completed by others)
• 1424-1425 - Wall of Lastra in Signa (resystematization)
• 1424 - Signature Wall (resystematization)
• 1424 - Muralla de Malmantile
• 1429 - Pazzi Chapel, Florence (completed by others)
• 1430 - Bardi Palace, Florence
• 1431 - Castle of Staggia Senese
• 1434-1437 - Rotonda de Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence (completed by others)
• 1435-1440 - Rocca de Vicopisano
• Rocca de Castellina in Chianti
• Rencine Castle (restructuring)
• 1444 - Basilica of the Holy Spirit, Florence (completed by others)

• 1420 - Project for the residence of the Duke of San Demetrio ne' Vestini
• 1434 - Project for the Church of Santa Maria de los Angeles, Florence (with a plant inspired by the Pantheon or San Vital de Rávena, did not come to an end but its plans influenced Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci)
• Proyecto del Palazzo Pitti, Florence (initiated posthumously in 1458)

Sculpture

• Argentinian Altar of San Jacopo, Cathedral of Pistoia (1400-1401)
  • Sant'Agostino (atr.)
  • San Giovanni Evangelista (atr.)
  • Geremia and Isaia (atr.)
• Sacrifice di Isacco, Bargello Museum, Florence (1401)
• Madonna col Bambino (attr.), palazzo Davanzati, Florence(1402-1405 circa) – ne conoscono circa ottanta repliche con lievi differenze, sparse nei musei del mondo.
• Crocifisso di Brunelleschi, cappella Gondi in Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1410-1415 circa)
• San Pietro (atr.), Museo di Orsanmichele, Florence (1412 circa)
• Pulpito di Santa Maria Novella (design), scolpito dal Buggiano, Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1443)