In the 1400s, church architecture experienced evolution as several aesthetic and stylistic changes took place (Burke, 2014). The period was the dawn of the renaissance architecture that saw the expansion and resurgence of ancient Roman and Greek culture. The renaissance architectural period first began in the city of Florence before spreading to other cities in Italy and subsequently rest of Europe (Burke, 2014). The architecture during this period placed more emphasis on the aspect of symmetry, geometry, and proportion (THE MET, 2002b). Filippo Brunelleschi is considered as among the pioneers of the Renaissance architectural period. This essay will discuss the religious architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi in Florence in the early 1400s and how he blended religious symbolism with mathematical and classical principles to create a new renaissance aesthetic.
The Life Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377 in Florence, Italy and died in 1446 also in Florence (King, 2013). He is regarded by many historians as the pioneer and father figure of renaissance architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi was an architect and engineer as well as an established mathematician. Though much of his life is not well documented, it is widely perceived he was born as the second son of a blacksmith (King, 2013). Early in his life, he first trained to be a goldsmith and a sculptor and became well established and talented blacksmith just like his father. He participated in numerous competitions losing severally to other blacksmiths such as Ghiberti. Later he transitioned to an architect and perfected the art. Contrary to many of the architectural predecessors, Filippo Brunelleschi moved away from the Gothic and Medieval designs and instead focused more on the architectural classicism (King, 2013).
Religious Architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi in Florence
When Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377 from Avignon, a new and never seen before phenomenon took place (Burke, 2014). The Pope’s imminent return and stay automatically made Rome the center of Christianity (Catholicism). Thus there was a surge in the building of churches in Rome an occurrence that had never happened in millenniums (Burke, 2014). The phenomenon attracted many architects including Filippo Brunelleschi to Rome. He thus made the trip to Rome to study the architectural ruins in the city (THE MET, 2002b). Though some accounts indicate that he made the trip to Rome out of anger of losing a door design competition to Ghiberti. Filippo Brunelleschi focused on studying the ancient Roman architecture and became much inspired. When he returned to Florence, he decided to pursue architecture and for the next decade dedicated his life in designing and engineering classical architecture (Burke, 2014).
Religion became one of the major inspirations of Filippo Brunelleschi. Given the Christian culture in the region at the time and the continuous building of churches as a result of Pope’s base in Rome, churches became the main works of Filippo Brunelleschi (Burke, 2014). He provided architectural and engineering expertise to many churches in Florence. Some of the main churches that he designed were Basilica di San Lorenzo, Basilica of Santa Croce, Church of St Mary of Angels, and the Cathedral of Florence (Burke, 2014). The Basilica di San Lorenzo is among the largest churches in Florence. The church is located right in the center of the main market district in the city. Basilica of Santa Croce is the main Franciscan church of Florence and serves as a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic. The church is located at the Piazza di Santa Croce and was officially opened in January 1442 (Bartlett, 2013). The Church of St Mary of the Angels was the monastery in Florence and was opened in 1437 (Bartlett, 2013). The Cathedral of Florence is the epitome of all designs by Filippo Brunelleschi. The dome was constructed in 1420 and was completed in 1430 and officially opened in 1436 (Bartlett, 2013). The dome is the main church of Florence and is widely known as Duomo di Firenze. The involvement of Filippo Brunelleschi in religious architecture was in response to the church bloom at the time. Many churches were being set up in Florence as a direct response to the same activities in Rome.
Blending of Religious Symbolism with Mathematical and Classical Principles
Renaissance architectural style effectively blended the aspect of religious symbolism with mathematical and classical principles (King, 2013). For the first time, the architectural designs at the time put more emphasis on proportion, symmetry, and geometry (THE MET, 2002b). That indicated that mathematics was a critical aspect of the designs. Without a doubt, Christianity was gaining momentum within cities in Italy. The establishment of Papal headquarters in Rome ensured that Christianity was more prevalent in Italy than ever. By the time Filippo Brunelleschi ventured into architecture, Roman and Greece culture had been incorporated into the religious architecture (THE MET, 2002a). Many of the ancient Roman religious ruins were embedded with the Roman and Greek culture. Therefore, when the Renaissance period arrived many of the architects including Filippo Brunelleschi began to incorporate these elements into their new designs. Filippo Brunelleschi and many other architects during the period gained inspiration from the vestiges of Greco-Roman antiquity. Such relics included coins, sculptures, ruins, and literature (THE MET, 2002a). Thus the independent thinking of Filippo Brunelleschi and others at the time ensured that the architectural designs that they produced remained unique and classical and at the same time reliving the Roman and Greek culture which was synonymous with the Catholicism Christianity.
Filippo Brunelleschi adopted clear and distinguishing features of the classical Roman culture; hence creating a new renaissance aesthetics (Burke, 2014). To successfully succeed in his designing work, Filippo Brunelleschi made use of mathematics. Being a mathematician, he strived to realistically design architectural products that were symmetrical and proportional (King, 2013). That ensured that the structures designed were long lasting and aesthetic. Therefore, most of his plans characteristically had a square and appeared symmetrical whereby the proportions were based on the mathematical model. Many of the architects in the 1400s believed that mathematics was critical and determined the laws of creation (King, 2013). Filippo Brunelleschi used mathematics to design buildings that he felt was harmonious and aesthetic. He was able to effectively blend the religious symbolism with the mathematical and classical principles because, at the time, architecture had quasi-religious status in Florence, Italy and many parts of Europe (THE MET, 2002b). Architectures including Filippo Brunelleschi believed that the architecture was the only way in which the humanity, spirit, and the earth could be united (King, 2013). Additionally, the utilization of the ancient cultural aspect of the Romans and Greeks ensured that the structure produced by Filippo Brunelleschi was aesthetic and unique (THE MET, 2002b). Filippo Brunelleschi used mathematics to ensure that the incorporation of the Roman culture on the churches came out in unique patterns that further enhanced their uniqueness.
Being a mathematician, Filippo Brunelleschi invented the linear perspective which became useful in the architectural field (King, 2013). When building the churches, mathematics helped him in determining ratios of the materials which ensured that the aspect of proportionality was maintained and the symmetrical characteristics achieved. Thus mathematics and architecture became intertwined and helped in creating bigger, stable, and long lasting church monuments (Bartlett, 2013). Specifically, Filippo Brunelleschi used the Parthenon and Pantheon where he made use of the angles and numerical values including the knowledge of the laws of gravity and distribution of weight to ensure the structures designed were long lasting, huge, stable, and effective (Bartlett, 2013).
Examples and Legacy of Filippo Brunelleschi’s Work
Little is known on when and why Filippo Brunelleschi transitioned from being a blacksmith to an architect. However, it is quite clear that the transition decision was critical and wise (Bartlett, 2013). During his career as an architect, he was involved in designing many projects of which many still stand today. Due to the situation at the time, most of his designs were churches. One of the most prominent designs that he created was the Cathedral of Florence. Cathedral of Florence which is locally known as Duomo di Firenze and officially as the Cathedrale
di Santa Maria del Fiore in Italian is the main church of Florence (King, 2013). Filippo Brunelleschi is accredited for the unique design of the Dome. The church is one of the largest in Italy and the largest dome made of bricks in the world. The church currently serves as the main Catholic Archdiocese of Florence (King, 2013). Additionally, the church opened in 1436 and is currently categorized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the UNESCO World Heritage Site (Cipriani, Fantini, " Bertacchi, 2014). His second most treasured design is the Basilica di San Lorenzo which is one of the large churches in Florence. The church is situated in the center of the primary market district in Florence. The church is part of the several old churches in Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi began constructing the church in 1419 and was completed in 1470. Even though the literature indicates that the church was not purely the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, the plan and the outcome of the church went according to the Filippo Brunelleschi’s original plan. He died before the church was completed.
Renaissance artistry revolutionized the way architectures perceive construction. Filippo Brunelleschi without a doubt left a lot of inspiration to many of the later architects. His works led to various other works with the major being St Peter’s Basilica. The church is one of the later churches built with the inspiration of the Filippo Brunelleschi. The Basilica is the main Papal church and was designed by Donato Bramante and other architects. The process of building the church began in 1506 and was completed more than hundred years later in 1626. St Peter’s Basilica is located in the Vatican City and is currently the largest church ever built in the world. The church has also received UNESCO World Heritage Status (Cipriani, Fantini, " Bertacchi, 2014).
Conclusion
Filippo Brunelleschi is without a doubt one of the most influential architects of the Renaissance era. His designs have withstood the test of time and majority of his works are still in great condition more than 550 years later. His great achievement is largely attributed to his open-mindedness to include the cultural Roman and Greek aspect, religious aspect, and mathematical aspect. Such combination ensured that his works were more stable and connected with the people religiously and culturally which increased conservative measures.
References
Bartlett, K. R. (2013). A short history of the Italian Renaissance (No. 9). University of Toronto Press.
Burke, P. (2014). The Italian Renaissance: culture and society in Italy. Princeton University Press.
Cipriani, L., Fantini, F., " Bertacchi, S. (2014, December). Survey and representation of vaults and cupolas: An overview on some relevant Italian UNESCO sites. In Virtual Systems " Multimedia (VSMM), 2014 International Conference on (pp. 50-57). IEEE.
King, R. (2013). Brunelleschi's dome: how a Renaissance genius reinvented architecture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
THE MET. (October, 2002a). Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity. Retrieved from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clan/hd_clan.htm
THE MET. (October, 2002b). Architecture in Renaissance Italy. Retrieved from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/itar/hd_itar.htm
