Brunelleschi's Renaissance Architecture and Lasting Legacy

Introduction: A New Renaissance Aesthetic

The religious architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi in Florence in the early 1400s established a new Renaissance aesthetic by blending religious symbolism with mathematical and classical principles drawn from his visits to the ancient ruins of Rome and from Vitruvius' De Architectura. Brunelleschi's unique blend inspired a new movement in Renaissance architecture — a movement that began with the Dome of the Florence Cathedral and extended through to the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, completed under Michelangelo. Michelangelo's plan was a kind of compromise between the Brunelleschi-inspired design of Bramante and the more crux-like design of Raphael (Johnson). The Basilica's dome was meant to rival the wonder of Florence created by Brunelleschi, which had essentially pushed the boundaries of Italian architecture into the next phase of greatness.

The phase of grandeur that Brunelleschi heralded was not coordinated by looking into the future — but rather by looking into the past. His conceptions of how to build the magnificent dome for Florence Cathedral were based on ideas the ancient Romans had utilized more than a millennium before — ideas that clearly worked, as the same structures built in antiquity were still standing in Brunelleschi's time. The question he posed was therefore: how did they do it? For answers, he turned to Vitruvius, reading about the machines the Romans built and employed to support their projects during various stages of production. He then designed and built similar — and entirely new — machines, such as hydraulic machinery, to assist in erecting the magnificent structures he envisioned. He also examined the principles of line and developed the concept of linear perspective, which spread throughout Europe and became a staple of artistic thought and design (Hartt).

In other words, Brunelleschi blended the ancient schools of architecture, mathematics, and aesthetics with the magnificent tradition of medieval religious thought in order to produce works that were formalistic, humanistic, and iconoclastic all at once. To see precisely how he accomplished this, it is necessary to examine some of his most famous architectural works — beginning with the Dome of the Florence Cathedral.

Engineering the Dome of Florence Cathedral

To create a dome that would mirror the purity and heavenliness of eternal reward — which the Sacrifice of the Mass offered beneath the dome would make possible — Brunelleschi was required to build a structure unsupported by beams. The dome had to be self-supporting, a reflection of the Heaven above that in effect domed all the world and bore its own weight without joists. Due to the Florence Cathedral dome's enormous size, architects were at a loss as to how to construct such a dome without it collapsing under its own weight (Mencher).

Brunelleschi turned, so the story goes, to an egg for inspiration. Florence wanted an egg-shaped dome atop its cathedral, and so the city asked its architects to demonstrate how they would make an egg stand upright without any supports. None could do so except Brunelleschi: he took an egg, hammered one end of it against marble, and thus stood it up. The story may be apocryphal, but it gets to the heart of the matter. "The basic concept behind Brunelleschi's dome is using an egg-like shape but also somewhat relates to the flying buttresses and the double dome construction" that Brunelleschi studied (Mencher) — much like the dome of the Pantheon, "which included pouring Roman concrete over a massive timber frame" (PBS).

Brunelleschi created essentially a barrel-like structure, with nine rings serving as a frame running around the octagonal body of the dome, itself supported by half-domes at its base. He gave the main dome a skeleton that would then be layered over using a "herringbone pattern of masonry" (Mencher). Hoisting materials up to workers required the invention of a ratchet-gear type of machine. The marvel of the dome lies in its engineering: Brunelleschi managed to recreate the feeling of a vaulted Heaven within Florence Cathedral — a massive dome with no visible support structure. The religious symbolism of Heaven manifested in the dome is thus combined with the classical principle of concealing the structural means by which it is held up.

Indeed, its outward appearance is wholly Gothic — a style that had emerged from France in the twelfth century — yet its architectural design is synonymous with the principles of the classical period (Hartt). In this manner, Brunelleschi bridged the Gothic and the classical within the Renaissance, uniting two traditions under a single roof — a feat that in itself symbolized the unifying effect of Christendom and the Christian ethic.

Classical Order and Proportion in San Lorenzo

Brunelleschi did still more to blend the religious with the mathematical and classical in order to take the Renaissance in a new direction. The Basilica of San Lorenzo — and the Old Sacristy in particular — would stand as a monument to a new and modern concept of proportion, unity, and classical order and harmony. With its religious purpose firmly intact and at the center of the work — this sacristy was designed to serve as a side altar in the church — Brunelleschi designed the entire building, and one of its novelties was the use of arches that were purely aesthetic: they served no structural purpose whatsoever. Their point was to give the interior of the church a geometric harmony.

Brunelleschi was incorporating the distinctiveness of classical design — columns and arches — into the aesthetic of religious architecture. The Old Sacristy followed this idea of proportion, linear harmony, and unity, establishing a movement that later architects such as Alberti and Perrault would continue. Both of those architects looked back at the classical world in order to achieve wonders of visual design and aesthetic quality. Brunelleschi's use of the Corinthian order is evident throughout this work, making it a marvel of classical design in a Renaissance and religious setting (Johnson).

Conclusion: The Apex and Aftermath of Renaissance Architecture

This was the height of the Renaissance in architecture — a crowning achievement that embodied the intertwining of religion, mathematical proportionality, classical design, and aesthetic achievement. As time wore on, the religious dimension of this combination would be lost, and one by one the other elements would fade as well — until, finally, twentieth-century architects such as Marcel Breuer saw fit to give the world a new style called "Brutalism," which would serve as the dominant tenement-dwelling style in cities around the world: a style devoid of life, beauty, charm, and grace — the antithesis of Brunelleschi's achievement and a sign of what the world had relinquished in the intervening centuries.

Works Cited

"Architecture in Renaissance Italy." The Met. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/itar/hd_itar.htm

Hartt, Fred. History of Italian Renaissance Art. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

Johnson, Paul. Art: A New History. NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.

Mencher, Ken. "Florence Cathedral." Ken-Mencher. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.kenney-mencher.com/pic_old/1300_1700/renaissance_architecture_2.htm

PBS. "Filippo Brunelleschi." The Renaissance. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/brunelleschi.html

Annotated Bibliography

"Architecture in Renaissance Italy." The Met. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/itar/hd_itar.htm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website is very helpful in providing information about Renaissance art and architecture, and especially about Brunelleschi, whom it features alongside profiles of Alberti and Palladio as major figures in Renaissance architecture. The information given on all three is helpful because of the juxtaposition: one can see how the three figures relate and how significant Brunelleschi's influence was. The site is further impressive because from this page one can link to several other essays for more information, such as "The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity" or "Domestic Art in Renaissance Italy." There is therefore plenty to offer a student looking for information on this subject. Embedded in the text are also pop-up picture links that connect to secondary essays expanding on subjects discussed in the main text. For example, in the section on Brunelleschi's use of classical orders — such as the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian — a link can be clicked that takes the reader to a new page to learn more about these orders. This makes the site both appealing and easy to use. It was certainly helpful for this paper and can be recommended to anyone wanting to find material that is both plentiful and accessible. The ease with which the overall website can be navigated is perhaps its best quality, right alongside the depth of information it offers. The site's credibility is unquestionable, as it is maintained by one of the world's premier art museums.

Mencher, Ken. "Florence Cathedral." Ken-Mencher. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.kenney-mencher.com/pic_old/1300_1700/renaissance_architecture_2.htm

This site was designed by a professor of art and architecture named Ken Mencher. It is a simple site reflecting his understanding of Brunelleschi's work on the Florence dome. It includes pictures and diagrams of the dome and how it was constructed, and provides information on its style. The writing is clear and consistently informative. It does not have links like The Met site, but returning to the home page reveals links to additional subjects. The site combines Mencher's projects with his teaching tools and thus serves as a helpful resource that guides the reader through the history of the Brunelleschi style in a less formal manner. It is useful for anyone looking for basic information on the architect's work on the Florence dome, and the pictures are especially helpful in understanding what the project entailed. It is a resource that can be recommended, though it should be used alongside other sources in order to develop a broader understanding of the subject. By itself it is not an adequate source for grasping Brunelleschi's full impact on the Renaissance, but it works very well as a primer.

PBS. "Filippo Brunelleschi." The Renaissance. Web. 10 Sep 2016. http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/brunelleschi.html

This site, organized by PBS, is devoted to the Renaissance. This particular page focuses on Brunelleschi — his life and works. It is a helpful site in that it provides background information on the subject and useful links. Those links can take the reader on a tour of all things Medici-related, making the website a very useful source for gaining a better understanding of the times in which Brunelleschi lived. One can also search the site and discover other areas in which Brunelleschi had an effect. Its founding as a PBS site lends it a degree of credibility that places it a notch above Mencher's site. It can be recommended alongside The Met site as one suitable for giving a student a solid basic education on the Renaissance and Brunelleschi's role in it. Overall, the site is focused on the PBS series regarding the Medici; because Brunelleschi had some involvement with that family, he is included.