How Did Brunelleschi Influence The Renaissance

In 1433 he was exiled and arrested by a rival family. Due to his strong political network and use of bribes, he returned to reign as he watched all of his political enemies be destroyed (The House of Medici). After riding of his enemies Cosimo then remained unchallenged for over 30 years. Since his power was no longer being challenged by his enemies he gained his popularity by giving money to the arts, launching Italy into the Renaissance. He commissioned the great architect Brunelleschi to build the dome of the Florence Cathedral. He even suggested that the Pope come to Florence to consecrate the cathedral after its completion (The House of Medici). After seeing how popular he became with the completion of the dome he began to use art as a

Brunelleschi was a good friend of the Meidici’s and was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder to build their Palace (Murray, 68). After seeing Brunelleschi’s design he felt that his model was too elaborate and grand, “envy is a plant one should never water (Murray, 68).” Instead Cosimo the Elder chose to commission Mickelozzo to build the Medici Palace on via largo and in 1444 the construction began (Murray, 68). The Medici Palace even furthered their impact on the Renaissance and became a very important foundation to Italy, since it is one of the first example of a renaissance building in Florence. The palace marks the transition the traditional 14th century Florentine house to a renaissance palace (Medici Riccardi Palace). After Cosimo many families would continue to follow and spend large amounts of their wealth building elaborate palaces (Murray,

The three stories are then topped by a classical style cornice (Murrary, 69). The cornice itself is approximately 10 feet high. Since the cornice is so larger the projection of the cornice had to be counterbalanced fastening blocks into the roof, creating a very elaborate and expensive look (Murrary, 69). When looking at the ground floor of the palace there are large round headed openings which are bordered by voussoirs. Voussoirs are tapered stone and are often used around arches. These large round openings are them symmetrical placed around the rusticated wall (Murrary, 69). The placing of rusticated stone on the main floor of palace was a main characteristic of renaissance palaces (Murrary, 69). This is because the rough stone gives a strong foundation to the building and provides better defenses. The rusticated stone also gives the palace a distinct rugged appearance (Murray, 69). The second story of the palace is the piano noble. The ground floor and piano noble are separated by a string course. The string course is in the form of a classical modillion cornice (Murray, 69). The string course not only visually separates the two floors, but it also serves as a sill to the windows on the piano noble. The windows are founded and symmetrical like the doors on the ground floor, but are not meant to be symmetrical with one another (Murray, 69). The top most floor of the palace is identical to the paint