Walk into a beginning drawing class and almost definitely one will see numerous boxes and students feverishly drawing lines to a vanishing point trying to recreate three-dimensional boxes in perspective in the second dimension. Think of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. or nearly any State house in state capitals and marvel at the domes that top these works of architecture. As one thinks on these things, the towering achievements and lasting effects of Fillipo Brunelleschi cannot help but be felt. Fillipo Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy in the year 1377 near the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. Like most people of this time period, very little is know about his childhood. However, it is known that Brunelleschi was the
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He began doing a number of structures for the prominent Medici family, perhaps trying to gain greater status and advancement in the city. As he built he began using Roman columns and other motifs common in Roman architecture thus igniting a broader interest in the Roman style. Brunelleschi had however set his interests on the greatest prize of all, building a self-supporting dome for the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. The city had long been in need of a dome, the church was originally started in 1296 and went through a number of overseers, including Giotto and Pisano, but by the year 1418 the cathedral was still without its dome. At last the city leaders of Florence determined that their city had to have its dome and thus they began the cupola project began. It was a massive project, the dome had to 150 feet across at its widest point and nearly 180 feet above the ground. Among the obvious problem of sheer size, and also stemming from it, was the issue concerning scaffolding. Enough scaffolding for the project would cost an astronomical amount therefore this was one of the main problems the chosen architect would have to solve. The greatest architects of the day flocked to Florence for a chance at immortality and a shot at the cash prize of 200 florens. As historians of the day tell the story, some ideas were simply ludicrous. Apparently one competitor suggested building the dome solely out of “sponge-stone” or pumice to reduce the weight and another suggested building scaffolding out of mud and money and allowing the greedy citizens to simply clear it away for the city when the project was completed. Then came Brunelleschi with a plan the would forever change architecture. He told the committee he would build not one but two domes and he would do it with almost no scaffolding. The committee’s interest was peaked but when asked to
He began doing a number of structures for the prominent Medici family, perhaps trying to gain greater status and advancement in the city. As he built he began using Roman columns and other motifs common in Roman architecture thus igniting a broader interest in the Roman style. Brunelleschi had however set his interests on the greatest prize of all, building a self-supporting dome for the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. The city had long been in need of a dome, the church was originally started in 1296 and went through a number of overseers, including Giotto and Pisano, but by the year 1418 the cathedral was still without its dome. At last the city leaders of Florence determined that their city had to have its dome and thus they began the cupola project began. It was a massive project, the dome had to 150 feet across at its widest point and nearly 180 feet above the ground. Among the obvious problem of sheer size, and also stemming from it, was the issue concerning scaffolding. Enough scaffolding for the project would cost an astronomical amount therefore this was one of the main problems the chosen architect would have to solve. The greatest architects of the day flocked to Florence for a chance at immortality and a shot at the cash prize of 200 florens. As historians of the day tell the story, some ideas were simply ludicrous. Apparently one competitor suggested building the dome solely out of “sponge-stone” or pumice to reduce the weight and another suggested building scaffolding out of mud and money and allowing the greedy citizens to simply clear it away for the city when the project was completed. Then came Brunelleschi with a plan the would forever change architecture. He told the committee he would build not one but two domes and he would do it with almost no scaffolding. The committee’s interest was peaked but when asked to