The Life of Filippo Brunelleschi and his Contributions in the Field of Architecture

959 Words2 Pages

In Florence, Italy a cathedral stands over the grave of its architect, Filippo Brunelleschi. The Cathedral of Florence that now serves as his monument was one of his largest architectural developments. Little is known about Filippo’s childhood because he was not very famous; however, later in life he made huge accomplishments in the field of architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi’s structures were considered glorious at the time and are still standing today. Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377 in Florence, Italy. He had one older brother and one younger brother. His mom was Giuliana Spini and his dad was Ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi, who was a Florentine notary. Even though Brunelleschi never married, he had one adopted son, Buggiano. After Brunelleschi trained to be a sculptor and goldsmith, in 1398, he applied to make the bronze reliefs for the door of the Baptistery of Florence in 1401. Sometime around this time he picked up the nickname “Pippo” by his friends. He was competing against six sculptors, one of them being Lorenzo Ghiberti. Unfortunately, Filippo didn’t win; Lorenzo Ghiberti did. After he lost, Filippo decided to leave his sculpting and to focus on architecture, where he worked with gears, clocks, wheels, and weights and math. He became very successful in those two fields. He turned out to be an architect and a clockmaker, but he was still a goldsmith too. He was also the first engineer in the renaissance (“Filippo Brunelleschi 1377-1446”). He was the architect for the Cathedral of Florence, also called the Santa Maria del Fiore. Later on, he started working on the Cathedral of Florence, one of his most prestigious works. He worked on the dome, which itself took about sixteen years to finish. Filippo barely got to... ... middle of paper ... ... how the arch rings fit within two sides of the octagon (King 106). People are still amazed by his dome and many of his other creations. Filippo Brunelleschi’s magnificent buildings and churches are still standing today. This genius will always be remembered for his superb works and very helpful discoveries. If you think about it, art would be really boring, because everything would be flat, without linear perspective being discovered. How would have cartoonists make their cartoons look believable? Everything would be flat. If Filippo Brunelleschi didn’t exist you might not be watching movies in three dimensional. He could have been the only one to discover the correct formula for linear perspective. Even though nearly no one I know has heard of Filippo Brunelleschi, he is a very important person. How fun would movies or art be if Filippo Brunelleschi never lived?

Show More
Related

  • La Rotonda

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andrea Palladio was born in 1508A.D. in Italy. At a very young age he became a stone mason, however his journey into architecture began when he met Gian Giorgio Trissino who immediately saw ability in him and decided to mentor Palladio. Trissino combined a study of classical architecture with architecture of the time, all the while allowing Palladio room to develop a style of his own. In time Palladio was constructing villas through out the country side of Italy, in all he constructed 30 villas, 18 of which are still standing today. Perhaps Palladio’s most famous work was the Villa Rotondra or La Rotondra which was started around 1565 and took approximately 4 years to build and was greatly inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It is interesting to note that la Rotondra is different from Palladio’s other villas in a number of ways, and it is evident that these differences help distinguish it from the rest. The main differences between Palladio’s Rotondra and his other work are, The Rotonda is set on a hilltop, it is located near a...

    Read More

  • Brunelleschi and The Romans: A Comparison of Technique

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Filippo Brunelleschi gained much of his architectural signature from his studies in Rome. He was already making a name for himself in Florence before he started working on a design for the Baptistery doors. “After Lorenzo Ghiberti had won the competition (1401) for the Baptistery doors, the runners-up, Donatello and Brunelleschi, both left for Rome to study sculpture and architecture respectively” (Meek np). It was actually a blessing in disguise that Brunelleschi lost the bid for the doors because it led him to move to Rome for a period of time. This exposed him first hand to the ancient Roman buildings and the specific architecture in their designs. According to PBS, “Brunelleschi spent the next 10-years living rough in Rome with his good friend, the sculptor Donatello, studying the ruins of the great city” (“Filippo Brunelleschi” np). A decade is a long time to absorb a narrow field of architecture. It is inevitable that he picked up on the design elements and incorporated them into his own. Through independent study, Brunelleschi could truly focus on what interested him and thus making it a passion of his. After his time spent in Rome, Brunelleschi moved back to Florence where he was “responsible for initiating the rediscovery of ancient Roman architecture” because he “understood its inherent principles and he employed them in an original manner” (Meek np). As a result it is indisputable that Brunelleschi’s ...

    Read More

  • Panegyric to the City of Florence

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is abundantly clear how Leonardo Bruni feels about the city of Florence. In Panegyric to the City of Florence, he expresses nothing but the highest praise for the city. Every aspect of Florence is backed by a clear reason why it is the best, and there is no other city in the world that can compare. According to Bruni, Florence has extraordinary beauty, architecture, geography, history, government, and people. This, of course, is only one person’s opinion. In the diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati, they too give their opinions on the city of Florence. In general, they do not seem to give Florence the same recognition and praise that Bruni gives.

    Read More

  • Brunelleschi's Chapel

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    In no other time was Roman influence in architecture more profound than in 15th century Florence. Filippo Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel revived interests for Roman architecture. Like Masaccio's The Holy Trinity, the Pazzi Chapel implemented numerous classical architectural elements. Like Masaccio's frescoe, the chapel is a highlight of the Renaissance. The chapel, however, was a Roman avatar. It is for this reason that Brunelleschi's is considered as an important example of the influence of Roman architecture in the Renaissance; Roman influence is most visible in the chapel's hemispherical dome, Corinthian columns, pilasters, and pedimented entrance.

    Read More

  • Donatello

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    Donatello Donatello’s real name is Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi (1386-1466). Donatello was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and was one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. A lot is known about his life and career, but little is known about his character and personality. He never married and seems to be a man of simple tastes. Patrons often found him hard to deal with and he demanded a lot of artistic freedom.

    Read More

  • Donatello

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Donatello was born in Florence, Italy in1386. The full name of Donatello is Donato di Niccolo di Belto Bardi (“Donatello” par 1, 2, 3). His dad was a wool comber (“Donatello” par 1, 2). There was not much information found on his mom. He had a first job and that in the workshop of Lerenzo Ghilberti, a gothic sculptor, between 1404 and 1407(“Donatello” par 1, 2, 3). After that job he worked at a Florence Cathedral in 1407. At the Cathedral he decorated tombs and pulpits and made portrait busts and monuments (“Donatello” par 1, 2). An inspiration for his work was by ancient visual examples (“Donatello” par 1). He achieved his full intensity in the beginning of the 15th century (“Donatello” par 1, 2, and 3). In the later part of his life he studied Roman Ruins and became a Humanist (Blood par 1).

    Read More

  • Lorenzo Ghiberti

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paradise. Then there is the Para ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS Giberti’s big break came when he went back to Florence in 1401 after hearing about the re-entry. that a competition was being held for the commission to make a pair of bronze doors for the Baptistery of the cathedral in Florence. He beat Filippo Brunelleschi and Jacopo della. Quercia, as well as four other artists, won the commission.

    Read More

  • florence cathedral

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Leadership Philosophies

    1915 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Developing a Philosophy of Leadership." . Leadership Paradigms Inc., n.d. Web. 12 Nov 2013. .

    Read More

  • Baroque Vs Italian Baroque Art

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...

    Read More

  • Herzberg's Two Factor Theory Essay

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    When people think of leadership so many things rush through their heads. For example am I a leader, am I apart of a group that has a leader, and what does being a leader mean? A common definition of being a leader is a person who leads or guides a group of people. So now knowing the definition of a leader who pops into your head; Phil Jackson, Mike Krzyzewski, Martin Luther King Jr.? All of these people are great leaders, but the real question is why are they so great? One very important thing that all these men have in common is they have a philosophy of leadership. This philosophy is going to help guide these men during turbulent times, or when they need guidance themselves. Nobody is perfect and everyone needs direction no matter how wise or gifted you are. I am no different, which is why writing this philosophy of leadership is going to be a fruitful experience for years to come.

    Read More

  • Brunelleschi: Representation Of The Renaissance

    245 Words  | 1 Pages

    Filippo Brunelleschi was an Italian designer who was known for his interest in Architecture,mathematics, mechanical engineering, sculpting and the study of ancient monuments. Brunelleschi was born on April 15,1377 and he died on April 15,1446. Brunelleschi’s most notable and impressive work was the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.

    Read More

  • Maxwell's Levels Of Leadership By George Maxwell

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    Maxwell through this book conveys leadership in ten chapters. He discusses ten traits that one needs to become a good leader. In chapter 1, Maxwell talks about influence which becomes his introduction to define leadership as

    Read More

  • Essay About Michelangelo

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    The life of Michelangelo is one of the most important parts of history. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Caprese, Italy in a time known as the Italian Renaissance (Bradbury 6). Michelangelo was born into a house with strong, ambitious values (Michelangelo Buonarroti Biography). From an early age he showed outstanding potential in the arts and soon became entranced with them. Michelangelo’s father was critical of his son’s choice of career as he saw art as a petty, unimportant occupation. Nevertheless his father had him apprenticed to one of the best artists in Florence. Influencing and characterizing Michelangelo, Florence was this artist’s starting point. Throughout his life he would remain loyal to this city, a haven that gave him hope. By the time he was sixteen Michelangelo had created his first works (16,7). Before long everyone in Florence would know him as one of the city’s best. Eventually the artist’s name would spread even further and soon the whole European world was immersed with Michelangelo and his art. Pope Julius II who was the reigning pope at the time was enamoured with Michelangelo and summoned him to Rome. The time Michelangelo spent in Rome was crucial in his development as an artist (8). In 1498 the “Pieta” was sculpted (Abridged Encyclopedia of World Biography). Being the first of its kind this statue was more realistic and defin...

    Read More

  • Great Leadership

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Abraham Lincoln’s ability for being a great leader was to be aware of his own weakness. One of his weaknesses was giving people too many chances. In fact, George McClellan, Commander in Chief of the Union Army, refused to follow orders about the war effort. Eventually, Abraham Lincoln created a deadline and removed McClellan from the position. Abraham Lincoln is also recognized as, “Honest Abe.” For example, “As a young man, Abraham Lincoln worked as a general store clerk. One evening he was counting the money in the drawers after closing and found that he was a few cents over what should have been in the drawer. When he realized that he had accidentally shortchanged a customer earlier that day, Lincoln walked a long distance to return the money to the customer.” He was a genuine leader. He was also equitable and conscientious. Abraham Lincoln is an exemplification of what a great leader possesses. He had the motivation to create his honesty.

    Read More

More about The Life of Filippo Brunelleschi and his Contributions in the Field of Architecture

Open Document