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Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377, and died here in 1446.
Of him Vasari wrote: "He was given to us by Heaven to give new
form to architecture". Inside the Cathedral is a portrait medallion,
beneath which his tomb was located. Outside the Cathedral is
the sculpture by Pampaloni, portraying him next to Arnolfo
di Cambio. Brunelleschi is famous for having built the dome
of Florence Cathedral, and for the innovative techniques by
which he adapted classical forms to the spirit of his own times.
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The dome of Florence Cathedral
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The wooden Crucifix
in Santa Maria Novella
[zoom]
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In 1401 he took part in the famous public competition
(won by Ghiberti) for the commission to make the Baptistery
doors; his gilded bronze panel of the Sacrifice of Isaac
may be seen in the Bargello. In the church of Santa
Maria Novella we can see his wooden Crucifix (1418-20)
in the Gondi Chapel. |
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He
studied the science of perspective and there are panels showing
the Baptistery and Piazza Signoria. In 1417 he began work on the
dome, kept him fully occupied for twenty years. This dome became
the focus of great hope for the future and a symbol for all Florentines;
Leon Battista Alberti wrote that it seemed to cover with its shadow
all the people of Tuscany. In the Opera del Duomo Museum there
are wooden models and building materials associated with the dome's
construction. In 1419 Brunelleschi was commissioned by the Silk
Guild to design the Foundling Hospital of the Innocenti, which
with the harmonious perspective geometry of its loggia is the
first masterpiece of renaissance architecture. The Piazza Santissima
Annunziata, which it flanks, later became one of the most admired
urban spaces in Europe.
From here we proceed to the church of San Lorenzo (begun
in 1419), whose luminous interior and nobility of form recall
the basilicas of antiquity. In the centrally-planned Old Sacristy
there is an evident spatial dialogue between the sphere and
the cube, and an architectural language derived from the classical
world.
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The church of San Lorenzo (inside)
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On
our way to Santa Croce we pass the Palagio del Parte Guelfa, which
Brunelleschi improved: he designed the council hall on the first
floor, and the delicately moulded classical window frames outside.
Next to Santa Croce we come to the Pazzi Chapel, begun in 1430,
a centrally-planned space with a hemi-spherical dome over barrel
vaulting, its white plaster walls contrasting with the grey stone
of the pilasters and entablature.
Brunelleschi's last great project was the church of Santo
Spirito (begun 1436), preceded by the Rotonda of Santa Maria
degli Angeli (c. 1434), not far from the Foundling Hospital,
which was never finished but clearly shows the influence of
classical centrally-planned buildings.
Brunelleschi had intended that the façade of Santo
Spirito should face the Arno, but this scheme was altered; so
too was his plan to express the curved shape of the side chapels
by an undulating exterior, and his idea of having four doors
instead of the traditional three; these changes were made by
the architects who completed the church after Brunelleschi's
death. The design of Palazzo Pitti is also attributed to Brunelleschi,
though it was considerably modified in later times by the Medici
Grand Dukes.
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The church of Santo Spirito
(inside)
The Pazzi Chapel (inside)
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| Brunelleschi's works in Florence: |
- The
dome of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral,
piazza del Duomo.
- Bargello
Museum, via del Proconsolo, 4.
- Church of Santa Maria
Novella, Gondi Chapel, piazza Santa Maria Novella.
- Hospital
of the Innocenti (Foundling Hospital), piazza
Santissima Annunziata.
- Church
of San Lorenzo and the Old Sacristy, piazza San
Lorenzo.
- Palazzo di Parte Guelfa,
via di Carpaccio.
- Pazzi Chapel,
Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, piazza Santa Crocee, 16.
- Rotonda of Santa Maria
degli Angeli, piazza Brunelleschi.
- Church of Santo Spirito,
piazza Santo Spirito.
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