Brunelleschi's Dome example essay topic

The revival of perspective and advances in the fields of architecture, art, mathematics, and science are just a few of the accomplishments of Filippo Brunelleschi. Not to mention being named "the father of the Renaissance" and constructing the largest building in Florence of that time period. After completing the book, Brunelleschi's Dome, I have concluded that Brunelleschi was certainly a genius and was one of the key shapers of the Renaissance. He invented new ways of doing things, and his ingenuity reflects a courageous disregard for previous building methods.

He also provided inspiration for others' work. This man, the main initiator of stylistic changes in Renaissance architecture, defied those who said that the dome would surely collapse, and overcame the many hardships that occurred, such as plagues, wars, and political feuds, to build one of the key architectural wonders of the Renaissance. Centering: the one word that caused most of the controversy surrounding the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. How could Brunelleschi not only not use flying buttresses, but also not use centering (which had been necessary in all previous Roman and Gothic structures) to construct the dome? It had never been done before, so many people were skeptical. Brunelleschi prevailed and proved that his new ideas could and would work.

Now, past the fact of centering, how was he to raise the tons of materials needed to build the dome? He needed to invent ingenious hoists and cranes (many of which are the most well-known of the Renaissance) to lift the materials the hundreds of feet in the air required. In manufacturing these cranes and hoists, he showed that he was a daring innovator with a solid knowledge of mechanics. Problems occurred in building the dome, such as not being able to transport the amount of marble needed, finding the right wood for the wooden chains, and cracks that appeared in the walls. In building the dome, he combined practical engineering with his vision of mathematical perfection.

The angles used on the dome were dangerous to build, but he invented scaffolding for the men to stand on, and only one man was killed in the process. His restoration of classic forms and his methods of architecture based on the mathematical, proportional, and scientific understandings make him a key figure in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Perhaps what he isn't, but should be most renowned for is his revival of the science of perspective, the most effective weapon in his own arsenal as a designer, and the main idea of Renaissance art in general. He developed a system of drawing that allowed the accurate projection of three dimensions onto paper. Objects appeared smaller the farther away they were, and space was directed towards a single vanishing point. Building plans could now capture the three-dimensional reality of a project.

In addition, exact measurements could be accurately represented and rationality could now guide architecture. For other arts too, perspective opened new possibilities: a painting could portray more than one object in proportion and a sculptor could take into account the decrease of objects at a distance. With this, he brought together art and science and relinquished incredible results wherever it was applied. It also made Florence the main city-state in the Renaissance.

When artists traveled to the Italian city, a vast skyline produced by Brunelleschi met them. After it was completed, the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore attracted many scientists, mathematicians, and other architects who wanted to learn from it. Donatello's "The Feast of Herod" is the earliest surviving piece of scientific perspective first rediscovered by Brunelleschi. Other architects looked to the magnificent dome for guidance in building their own.

Scientists learned from the sundial in the cathedral and mapmakers were able to make more accurate maps because of this. Also, mathematicians learned from the angles Brunelleschi used to build the dome itself. In 1421, Filippo received the first ever patent for the invention of the barge that was supposed to be used to transport the marble on the river Arno. After the invention of the patent, people's ideas were stolen less often. Also, before the construction of the dome, Brunelleschi invented the first alarm clock. Obviously, both are still used in today's society.

Enough problems faced him in building the dome without the added plagues, wars, and political issues. The bubonic plague killed many people in Florence, but Brunelleschi was still able to find enough workers to construct the massive dome. Wars took away time that could have been used to build the dome. In the 1420's, when Florence was at war with Milan, Brunelleschi was sent into the battlefield to design different catapults and was an expert in hydraulic engineering. When he returned, he got right back to working on the dome. This is just another reason of how great of an architect Brunelleschi really was.

Even with all the curveball's thrown at him, he completed the dome the way he had designed it. So, for all of these reasons, Brunelleschi was a shaper of the Renaissance. He guided architecture beyond the narrow streets of the cramped Italian city-state and into the sophisticated light of the Renaissance. The use of perspective in art finds its origin in one man, Filippo Brunelleschi. Although he was supposedly not the first to invent it, he was the man who reinvented, bringing it back to the people. Without him doing so, perspective might never have been rediscovered until much later, and all of the wonderful sculptures and paintings would be lost without it.

He influenced the minds of Michelangelo, Donatello, and Galileo. His impact on the cultural world was very strong and modern architects have honored him as the first great exponent of rational architecture. He presented the world with a notion of artistic values. Brunelleschi believed the secret to good architecture lay in creating "the right proportions".

He was the most revolutionary of the Florentine architects, transforming the face of the medieval city-state with the bold and refreshing structures of the early Renaissance. Mathematical and architectural perfection was his goal, and he certainly reached that. I'm sure he had no idea how enormous the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore would really become and what a cultural icon Florence would grow to be as the center of the Renaissance..