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The importance of knowing about architecture as engineers
The importance of knowing about architecture as engineers
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The Basilica di Santo Spirito is located in Florence, Italy and was worked on from the years 1434 to 1482. Santo Spirito was designed by the famous architect Filippo Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi died before the building was completed, however the project was still completed by some of his successors: Antonio Manetti, Giobanni da Gaiole, and Salvi d’Andrea. Salvi d’Andrea was also responsible for the construction of the cupola. Antiono Manetti was one of the main people who helped with the construction after Brunelleschi’s death. He was an Italian mathematician and architect from Florence, who also took on the role of Brunelleschi’s biographer. Overall the church of San Spirito was built as the younger twin of the church San Lorenzo. However …show more content…
Brunelleschi designed Santo Spirito to contain solutions to design problems in his other works and was a culmination of all his other designs and ideas. Santo Spirito was more successful in addressing proportions, use of barrel vaults, and design techniques than his previous works. Thanks to the brilliant Brunelleschi, San Spirito was improved upon due to past experiences with San Lorenzo and the Pazzi Chapel. Overall, Brunelleschi looked to his older works to gather his great ideas and designed Santo Spirito with that in mind. Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy in 1377. His father was Brunellesco di Lippo, a notary, and his mother was Giuliana Spini. Filippo was the middle child of three children in his family. When he was young he was given a mathematical and literary education to make it easier to follow in his fathers’ footsteps. When he was fifteen he started an apprenticeship with a family friend who was a goldsmith. This man, Benincasa Lotti, helped him in the workshop and assisted him in what eventually became a great skill for Brunelleschi. He mastered the mounting of gems and the engraving and embossing of silver. Brunelleschi was very wise and had extensive knowledge of math and equations in designing buildings. This background and education he received when he was younger comes through in his designs. Brunelleschi was more artistically inclined than his father so he attended the Arte Della Seta which was the silk merchant’s guild. While his father wanted him to choose the same career, he respected the fact that he wanted to do something different. In 1398 Filippo became a goldsmith and was then commission his first important project which was overall designing the Ospedale degli Innocenti. This Ospedale is regarded as a notable example of early Italian Renaissance architecture. Brunelleschi’s past education was a key proponent in his design techniques and his skill. Brunelleschi was considered one of the first successful Renaissance architects. He normally started with a unit of measurement and through repetition of this unit, he created a sense of harmony throughout the building. This is evident in Santo Spirito which is represented by each side chapel which is designed as a niche and each is the same width and depth as every other one. There are thirty-eight side chapels along the perimeter of the building which create the sense of harmony. Santo Spirito was built as a successor to San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo was completed first, however some of Brunelleschi’s plans were changed and thwarted due to rivalries. Brunelleschi had a history of keeping to himself after a while because of other jealous architects who tried, and sometimes succeeded, in stealing his designs. This time around when it came to designing San Spirito, not many of Brunelleschi’s design decisions were changed. His successors didn’t change much due to the fact that Brunelleschi improved on and gathered his most successful ideas and kept that in mind while designing Santo Spirito. Unfortunately, after the first delivery of materials were brought to the site to start constructing San Spirito, Brunelleschi passed away not long afterwards. This did not stop Santo Spirito from becoming one of Brunelleschi’s most famous works. It is one of the largest churches of Florence. Due to Brunelleschi’s death his followers made some changes to the overall designs.
The intended barrel vault for the nave and transept was built as a flat ceiling so there wasn’t as much conflicting contrast between those two ceilings. Also, his idea of a four-door façade was replaced with the traditional three door façade. What his original design intended for the church was a culmination of his design details that were successful or maybe a solution to the fallbacks he had in some of his other works. While detail is a large part of some of his other buildings, Santo Spirito shows very little detail on the …show more content…
exterior. Another way Santo Spirito was more successful than Brunelleschi’s other buildings, was that the spatial relations of the structure were very proportional. Both columns in the church separate the spaces inside creating a three-aisle hallway that uses both the central part and the transept of the churches. Santo Spirito has equal spacing throughout the building. The dimensions of the central aisle is complementary to the height of the arches of the side chapels. Santo Spirito uses a module of eleven Florentine braccia. The braccia is an Italian unit of measurement ranging from fifteen to thirty-nine inches, which was used along the perimeter of the building. The use of the braccia created a harmony of repetition which was an improvement from other works and was also a very beautiful design move in Santo Spirito. Due to the repetition of the side chapels in Santo Spirito and the harmony it created, it became more successful because of the design decision to have a centralized plan distinguishing where the altar and the dome were to be placed. In reference to the dome, the details from San Lorenzo’s dome and Santo Spirito’s is different. Santo Spirito has a drum under the dome with round windows and visible ribs. San Lorenzo has a hemispherical dome with no drum, round shaped windows and not visible ribs. The spatial details of the central part of San Spirito are similar that it puts an emphasis on the choir while the transepts are on the sides. Visible ribs in Santo spirit took on of Brunelleschi’s more successful design elements and made the interior look muscular like that in the Pazzi Chapel. Another way that Santo Spirito was a culmination of his ideas was the use of Pietra Serena.
Pietra Serena is a greenish-grey sandstone that is used in the Medici Chapel by Michelangelo and also in the Pazzi Chapel. It is used in both of those buildings on the columns, moldings and cornices as architectural details. However, the use of Peitra Serena in Santo Spirito is different than the use of it in the Pazzi Chapel. Due to Brunelleschi’s mathematical way about designing, his proportions help the use of this material. Because this building is very successful in terms of proportions, there is a sculptural language that is created from using Peitra Serena which contributes to the muscular interior of the building.
Santo Spirito’s interior is lush and has a decorative overlay on the barrel vaulted ceiling while the exterior of the building acts as a contrast to that by being very simple and exhibiting an unfinished façade. While the original church’s exterior was made of stone, it was eventually plastered over and left unfinished. Unfinished exteriors are like that of many Florentine buildings of the time, which made the building fit in with Italian Renaissance style. While some aspects of the building fit in with that style, Santo Spirito stood out from others due to the beautiful culmination of his design
elements. While Santo Spirito wasn’t completed by Brunelleschi himself, his culmination of successful design moves was carried out. Santo Spirito, with the use of equal proportions, creates a great spatial feeling and an incredible sense of harmony. Even though Brunelleschi was not alive for the completion, he is credited with the very successful design. A part of architecture is to learn from past mistakes and design techniques that did not work out so well. Brunelleschi, thankfully, had followers that paid attention to his ideas and methods, and when it came time to building Santo Spirito, proper measures were taken place in order to make this building a beautiful and elegant church that unites his most successful ideas into one structure.
The church's architecture over all is simple. It is 24 by 34 square feet and set on a stone wall. It is a frontier style cabin and is made from hand hewn logs, which are notched at each end so that they fit together snugly at the corners. The roof is shingled...
Mission San Juan Capistrano is in the center of the small town named for it. Shops and restaurants also named for it are found on the streets in front of the entrance to the mission. A high adobe wall surrounds the mission grounds. There are many restored buildings in the inner patio, and the great stone church. Across the fountain there is the bell wall that sits beside the ruined church. Near the bell is a statue of Father Junipero Serra. The ruins of the original stone church are in front of the mission. Only the sanctuary and parts of the church remain, but that’s enough to have an idea of how big it was. The church walls are made of large stones and birds have build nests between them. Mission San Juan Capistrano was one of many Spanish
The churches are built almost entirely of stone. Built on a symmetrical concept, they both have three portals as an entrance to the nave. Symmetrical towers rise several stories above the left and right portals. It is important for one to recognize that the stone ribbed vaulted ceilings were added on after the
La Pietà of Giovanni Della Robbia is amazing religious glazed and painted terracotta dated 1510-1520. It was mainly intended to introduce the meaning of the Bible story to large and mainly illiterate audiences. One of the things that this image can tell us about life in western civilization is how much the artists were focused on translating the bible and trying to understand it without the help of the Catholic Church through art and humanism. La Pietà is one of the richest and best known collections of Della Robbia sculptures at the springtime of the renaissance. The creator of the sculpture is Giovanni Della Robbia; the first and epic of a dynasty of important pottery artists, decorators, potters, and terracotta workers. Della Robbia developed a unique pottery glaze that made his creations much more durable in the outdoors and therefore much suitable for use on the exterior of buildings. This was an extraordinarily formal and refined technique that immediately met with great success, so much so that the Della Robbia family’s work flourished for over one hundred years. It uniquely combines archaeometric and stylistic time-related information about the renaissance age in Western Civilization. In its context, La Pietà was created in the 15th century, the renaissance age , when there was a surge in artistic, literary, and scientific activity , especially in Florence, the third largest city in Europe, an independent republic where the Italian Renaissance began, and a banking and commercial capital after London and Constantinople. The renaissance era when this sculptured was created was also marked by few major events such as: religious problems in church, Erasmus publishing Greek edition of the New Treatment ...
During the period of Renaissance, human’s thought and intelligence has reached its highest and its effect on the architectural form, it became clear and its engagement of rational aspect on the building. Mainly geometrical forms are the characteristics which can be identified. Not so long after Renaissance period of Baroque architecture was introduced, rather than logic and reasoning they wanted to capture the emotional atmosphere by using the architectural elements such as light, height, crafted art, costly materials and so on as being mentioned by(Scotti 2007, 5-10).
During the late sixteenth century a new style of art, known as Mannerist, emerged through out Italy as a result of the Protestant Reformation. Mannerist distorted art was justified because it served mid way between the ideal, natural, symmetrical and the real, artificial, and unbalanced. The religious and political upheaval lead to the distinct Mannerist style know for being stylish, cultured, and elegant. Mannerist art is thought provoking, asking the viewer to ponder and respond to the spatial challenges and meaning found in the painting, sculpture, and architectural work. Mannerist painting and sculpture are characterized by complicated compositions, distorted figure styles, and complex allegorical interpretations. Meanwhile Mannerist architecture often employs classical elements in a new and unusual way that defies traditional formulas.
The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the
The maintenance and completion of the Baptistery of San Giovanni, one of the oldest and most significant buildings in Florence, was entrusted to the Arte del Calimala Guild. This wool merchants’ guild was the oldest of Florentine guilds and was extremely powerful and wealthy. This wealth and power was due in large part to the fact that Florence was the fabric capital of Italy. The Baptistery was dedicated to Florence’s patron saint, John the Baptist. Consequently, the first set of doors created by Andrea Pisano in 1336 depicted scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist and was installed on the east or main entrance side.
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
The masculine and idealized form of the human body is an ever-present characteristic of Michelangelo’s sculpture. Many people over the years have speculated why this may be, but there has never been a definitive answer, and probably never will be. Through all of his sculpture there is a distinct classical influence, with both his subject matter and his inclination to artistically create something beautiful. In most cases, for Michelangelo, this means the idealized human figure, seeping with contraposto. This revival of classical influences is common for a Renaissance artisan, but the new, exaggerated form of the human body is new and unique to Michelangelo’s artistic style.
The San Vitale is primarily built of brick with a marble and mosaic interior. The ground plan consists of a octagonal organization with a central dome supported by a tall cylindrical drum. Separated by clerestory windows, is a dome in a concentric form of clay tubed rings and seven curved exedras connected to vaulted semi domes. At the main entrance of this chapel is a narthax making it off access from the adjustment apsidal chapels. On either side of the narthax is two projecting towers, one being a spiral stair tower and the other a bell tower. Connecting the central dome area and the ambulatory is 8 strong masonry pillars. The outer prism incorporates two levels of galleries with eccentric mosaics from floor to ceiling. Whether marble or mosaic stone, the monument fills t...
There is a Romanesque style in the arched windows and the brick walls. The Beaux-Arts tradition is a T-shaped floor plan. The building measures 75 feet in diameter with three wings. The Rotunda’s walls are made of Italian marble and the floors have mosaic tile. The statue in the center of the floor is called “Three Muses.”
There are a number of artists involved in this field who used their works to pass specific information such as Leonardo da Vinci. The other acknowledged artist is Michelangelo Buonarroti; an Italian artist renowned for his famous fine pieces of arts. The Pieta piece of art is among some of the works that were sculptured by this particular artist. The name is an Italian word that means pity or compassion. With regards to this work this paper will through research provide its details with regards to more information about it, the artist, history as well as its background.
Sculpture in the exteriors and interior of these churches were decorated. Large figures of the kings were placed in the frontage, while the entrance were lined by the pillar – statues of saints, angels and apostles and other parts of the buildings were covered with decorative cusps and finials. The Gothic sculptures revolutionary were beyond their Romanesque of precursors in their notion of the figures as independent. Gothic sculpture became more complex in the consequent centuries. Figure of the Virgin in the South transept of Notre Dame de Paris is an example of such Gothic figure in France. F...
Without the use of concrete the Romans could not have successfully built the barrel vault which holds up the ramping system that are present in the structure. The sanctuary is built into the hillside so that the structure is built into the hill. The building contains seven terraces, 400 feet tall from where the fortune tellers would help pilgrims to colonnaded rotunda on top which contains the 17th century palace of the Barberini. The structure is meant to look out on the plains and mountains, and has a axial