Filippo Brunelleschi

The Architect of Florence

The Significance of the Renaissance

• The Renaissance came to be after the work of Petrarch had begun to take effect and spread throughout Italy. People started to think of different things in life. People took the ideas of the Romans and Greeks and followed their examples. The arts and sciences flourished, never before had so many people in Christendom studied and worked for glory and personal achievement. The Renaissance was essentially the birth of the modern age, where the mindset of the people become increasingly based on the world that they tread on.

Biography

• Brunelleschi was born in Florence Italy in 1377. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith and studied Engraving, the science of motion, and machinery. Later in life he began to study from the past works of roman architecture in Rome. With this new knowledge he invented linear perspective and designed the great dome of Florence.

Influence on ism’s• Brunelleschi became to be know as the father of renaissance architecture.

He achieved this though the application of 2 of the 4 ism’s in his works. At first he was a sculptor but failed to gain entry to the commission of the Florence baptistery He Introduced the world to a new height of architectural skill. By studying past Romanesque architecture he envisioned a new Italy built on humanistic ideals. He took the old style and brought it back to light again. Artists and builders revered him for his work.

Works• The Dome of Santa Maria Del

Fiore Cathedral: His greatest work was the designing and building of the dome. Using Unorthodox methods for construction and design, he created the largest freestanding dome in the world at the time. Funded by the Medici and inspired by the romans, the dome was built over 16 years and is the most iconic part of Florence.

• Linear perspective: In the early stages of his architectural learning, he began to rediscover the principal of linear perspective. Studying old works from the Romans he noticed the lack of it in medieval times. It enabled the 3D perspective of renaissance artists and architects to bring flat drawings to life.