ARTH 1201 Midterm: Study Document for Monuments Week 1-6
28 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy, begun 1296 (Arnolfo di Cambio);
Brunelleschi’s dome, 1420-1436
- Italian Gothic style
- Campanile (tall tower)
- Pointed arches
- Brunelleschi had just left Florence because he
lost a huge bronze doors commission. He went
to Rome and was inspired by the Pantheon’s
Dome: coffered ceiling, opulus, hemispherical
dome on a drum. He didn’t have the technology
to make one himself, but he designed a
double-shell dome supported by ribs to solve
the problem at Santa Maria. Buttresses carry
the weight down on the outside. In between the
shells was added a structure for extra support.
- Roman structure: brickwork idea ->
herringbone. Plastered over and later painted.
- The opulus in this case is a lantern.
1. Precise Measurement
2. Technical innovation and willingness to
supersede the past: not to copy it, learn from it
3. Reverence for Antiquity
San Lorenzo, Florence, Brunelleschi, 1421-1444
- Orange = later additions
- Old Sacristy (1421-1428) for the Medici
Family. Important part of the Church
where sacred elements were stored +
thomb for the Medicis.
- Hemisphere on a cube = pendentives
Why perfect squares & circles?
HUMANISM. The man is at the center of
everything, man is the ideal, becomes a
tool for measurement. (Leonardo Da
Vinci's Vitruvian man)
- Vitruvius: Roman man writing about
Greek Architecture. His texts were lost
and later rediscovered by Poggio
Bracciolini (***** dates)
Why is Vitruvius so important?
1. Explains ancient Roman & Greek
Architecture (the importance of the
Orders, the system of proportions using
the module, etc.)
2. Only surviving text from antiquity
3. Provides basis for art of architecture
Italian Renaissance
- Seek Ideal (abstract) forms
- Desire to create harmonious spaces
- Human proportions
Back to the Old Sacristy:
- Articulation of architecture & proportions
is incredibly clear -> argument for
Humanism, Divinity
- Plain surfaces
- Pietra serena
Palazzo Medici, Florence, Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, 1444-1459
- Was supposed to be designed by Brunelleschi
- Piano Nobile (noble floor) at 2nd floor + Medici
marking (crest)
- 3rd floor: courtyard, environment that looks back to
antiquity ; allows air and light to come in ; goes up
stories.
- Impress visitors of the sophistication of Florence
was a duty for rich families.
- 40 room house VS typical 12 room house
Alberti:
- Wrote in Latin for an educated audience.
- References Vitruvius in structure, but differs in:
1. Focusing on creating something new
2. Describing how buildings ought to be built
3. Expanding the subject to discuss “architectural
things”
The windows on the ground floor were
designed by Michelangelo (1518-1519)
as his first architecture project, which
he relates to the human body and its
articulations.
Hammer-Dressed
Smooth Rustication
Ashlar
Rough, irregular, deeply textured
Textured in smooth rectangles
Smooth, slightly textured
Document Summary
Sa(cid:290)ta ma(cid:325)ia del fio(cid:325)e, flo(cid:325)e(cid:290)ce, ital(cid:369), begu(cid:290) (cid:799)(cid:800)(cid:807)(cid:804) (cid:883)a(cid:325)(cid:290)olfo di ca(cid:289)bio(cid:884); Brunelleschi had just left florence because he lost a huge bronze doors commission. He went to rome and was inspired by the pantheon"s. Dome: coffered ceiling, opulus, hemispherical dome on a drum. He didn"t have the technology to make one himself, but he designed a double-shell dome supported by ribs to solve the problem at santa maria. Buttresses carry the weight down on the outside. In between the shells was added a structure for extra support. The opulus in this case is a lantern: precise measurement, technical innovation and willingness to supersede the past: not to copy it, learn from it, reverence for antiquity. Important part of the church where sacred elements were stored + thomb for the medicis. The man is at the center of everything, man is the ideal, becomes a tool for measurement. (leonardo da. His texts were lost and later rediscovered by poggio.
