There’s Something About Filippo Brunelleschi

Feast your eyes upon the skyline of Florence, Italy (Photo via Pinterest).

And there it is: the famed church dome of Filippo Brunelleschi.

A year-ish or so ago I took a Renaissance history class. I wrote a paper about the contributions of Brunelleschi—a simple outline and basic subsequent explanations about his various inventions and artistic accomplishments. I then took the paper a step further by proposing the idea that the Renaissance in turn contributed to the life of Brunelleschi—that without living in that time he may not have risen to his fullest potential because he didn’t have to. The paper is titled “On Filippo Brunelleschi: A Convergence of Mind and Era.”

<<The skyline of Florence, Italy, is graced with the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. A simple four-letter word, dome, is almost an injustice to the grandeur and genius exhibited in the architectural masterpiece created by Filippo Brunelleschi. A renowned Florentine in the rich period of the Renaissance, Brunelleschi is remembered today mainly for the dome. However, his contributions to the Renaissance are extensive, and the time period of the Renaissance in turn complemented his career.

Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377 to Ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapo and Giulani Spini. His father Ser Brunellesco was a well-respected notary in Florence and originally planned on his son to follow in his footsteps. Brunelleschi exhibited artistic talent through painting and drawing as a child; his father recognized his abilities and allowed him to learn to become a goldsmith. He became proficient at this trade among other trades and skills including sculpture, architectural reliefs and the handling and usage of precious stones. He registered with a Florentine guild, the Arte della Seta, and competed against Lorenzo Ghiberti and other artists to design and produce the bronze panels in the Florence Baptistery doors. His submission to the contest, “The Sacrifice of Isaac,” demonstrated his understanding and skill of material and form in the realm of sculpture despite his not being chosen for the Baptistery commission. Having lost the competition to Ghiberti, Brunelleschi turned his attention to architecture.

Should architects of today say a silent prayer of thanks that Brunelleschi lost the sculpture contest? Perhaps they should, considering the genius calculations, inventions and theories created by Brunelleschi that exist even today. Early in his career, Brunelleschi developed paintings on small panels to create a work true to the reality of the human eye, angle and vantage point. He used mirrors and silver paint to create reflection. These panels demonstrated perspective and the use of a vanishing point in a two-dimensional piece to provide depth. Painters and architects alike implemented and continue to implement perspective in their works using the principles demonstrated in his panels. Brunelleschi’s design and construction of a piece to demonstrate perspective exhibit not only his artistic talent but his scientific and engineering awareness, appreciation and actualization in the realm of Renaissance art.

The cathedral where his dome sits in splendor was actually already under construction before Brunelleschi was even born. However, by the 1400s, the construction had begun to slow down due to complications surrounding the design and installation of a dome that could match the Gothic architecture. The machinery used to install the dome was invented by none other than Brunelleschi, who also designed the lantern that still sits atop the dome. The dome itself is a legacy of Brunelleschi, but beyond the actual dome one should consider the engineering science and mathematical ingenuity that made its construction and transcendence of time a possibility.

The completion of the dome project helped Brunelleschi rise to Florentine fame as an architect. Another notable project was the design of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, where he resurrected classical Greek architecture through the use of Corinthian columns. His symmetrical layouts reflect his perspective design from earlier in his career that came as a result of studying Greek and Roman architecture. Brunelleschi designed the Old Sacristy, Pazzi Chapel, Santa Maria degli Angeli and Church of Santo Spirito with specific geometric dimensions and shapes, both internally and externally. His design was revolutionary at the time as it sought to bridge the Gothic architecture to structures that were more suitable for the Renaissance period. Considering Brunelleschi’s beginning as a painter and sculptor, his works were not only brilliantly engineered but beautifully imagined and brought to fruition, proving his mastermind and true representation of a Renaissance man.

Brunelleschi and the Renaissance are complementary; they allowed each other to mutually contribute. Brunelleschi’s living during the 1400s in Florence allowed him the foundational experience as a master in a guild. The presence of wealthy families and patrons created opportunities for commissions and projects that Brunelleschi might not have been able to acquire otherwise, thus allowing him to demonstrate an arsenal of advanced artistic and scientific abilities. Florence, home to many great Renaissance artists and works, provided a playing field for someone like Brunelleschi who simply, but so profoundly, created. Had Brunelleschi been alive during another time, a time less vibrant and rich in artistic development and less needful of engineering, mathmatic and geometric ingenuity, perhaps his mind could not have flourished to the extent it did, and his hand and imagination could not have bloomed thoroughly. The Renaissance was the only season in which the fruit of Brunelleschi could fully ripen.

The sun rises and sets on Florence every day, and the marks of Brunelleschi bask in this sunlight of modern times. Architects continually drink in the knowledge and ingenuity of Brunelleschi’s mind, and even the average consumer can be profoundly impacted by the works of this Renaissance man. The dome, through its very existence, acknowledges Brunelleschi as it soars above the Florentine rooftops.>>

I’m glad that the dome still exists today, but more importantly I’m thankful for Brunelleshi himself for two reasons: he did not give up when losing the baptistery commission but instead turned his devotion to another art form. Second, when faced with obstacles, he didn’t simply sidestep them but forged ahead by figuring out how to solve the problems. Funny, because just as the dome still stands and speaks of Brunelleschi’s genius, his tenacity is an example to us all, despite our living hundreds of years later.

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