Thinking About Renaissance Ideas

What distinguishes Brunelleschi as an architect What distinguishes Brunelleschi as an architect? What is the most marked characteristic of his artistic/architectural style?

The Spedale degli Innocenti was a foundling children’s orphanage established in 1419 and designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. This Foundling Hospital is regarded as a prime example of early Italian Renissance architecture. Why? What do you see?

Each bay of the arcade encloses a cube of space defined by the 10-braccia (20 foot) height of the columns and the diameter of the arches. Hemispherical pendentive domes half as high as the columns cover the cubes

Each bay of the arcade encloses a cube of space defined by the 10-braccia (20 foot) height of the columns and the diameter of the arches. Hemispherical pendentive domes half as high as the columns cover the cubes

The Guild of the Silk Manufacturers and Goldsmiths in Florence established this orphanage. Why does this building have a portico?

What type of capital is on this column? What craftsman made the medallion? Out of what medium? 1487 Andrea dell Robia

The nocentini, or “little innocents”, were left at the doors of the hospital in the hopes that they would be able to sustain a better life in a time of severe economic destitution and social hardships. A unique rotating wheel system allowed parents to leave their children at the doors of the hospital without being seen. Parents could depend on this hospital to care for their newborns on either a permanent or a temporary basis.

Many parents, though reluctant to give over their child, knew that they would be properly cared for at the hospital and hoped that one day they would be reunited. This anticipation of reunion can be seen in the many different types of jewelry that were broken in half, one piece left with the mother and the other given to her child, in the hopes that the two separated pieces would one day be whole again.

What distinguishes Brunelleschi as an architect What distinguishes Brunelleschi as an architect? What is the most marked characteristic of his artistic/architectural style? Rationality Mathematical Resolution Proportion Extreme Formalism and Balance--in other words: Classical Form

Dome of Florence Cathedral Filippo Brunelleschi Dome of Florence Cathedral 1417-36

Leon Battista Alberti Sant’Andrea, Mantua

façade and interior of Church of Sant’Andrea Leon Battista Alberti use of Roman Imperial art: the Basilica of Maxentius and Basilica of Constatine in the Roman Forum façade and interior of Church of Sant’Andrea Leon Battista Alberti

façade of Church of Sant’Andrea Leon Battista Alberti fuses a classical temple front and a triumphal arch façade of Church of Sant’Andrea Leon Battista Alberti

Interior of Sant’Andrea Reconstruction of the Basilica of Maxentius Interior of Sant’Andrea