Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi (/ˌbruːnəˈlɛski/ BROO-nə-LESK-ee, Italian: [fiˈlippo brunelˈleski]) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti,[4] was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture. He is recognized as the first modern engineer, planner, and sole construction supervisor.[5][6] In 1421, Brunelleschi became the first person to receive a patent in the Western world.[7][8] He is most famous for designing the dome of the Florence Cathedral, and for the mathematical technique of linear perspective in art which governed pictorial depictions of space until the late 19th century and influenced the rise of modern science.[9][10] His accomplishments also include other architectural works, sculpture, mathematics, engineering, and ship design.[6] Most surviving works can be found in Florence.
"Brunelleschi" redirects here. For other uses, see Brunelleschi (disambiguation).
Filippo Brunelleschi
15 April 1446 (aged 68–69)
Architecture, sculpture, mechanical engineering
Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy, in 1377.[11] His father was Brunellesco di Lippo (born c. 1331),[1] a notary and civil servant. His mother was Giuliana Spini; he had two brothers.[12] The family was well-off; the palace of the Spini family still exists, across from the Church of the Trinità in Florence.[13] The young Filippo was given a literary and mathematical education to enable him to follow the father's career. Being artistically inclined, however, Filippo, at the age of fifteen, was apprenticed at the Arte della Seta, the silk merchants' guild, the wealthiest and most prestigious guild in the city, which also included jewellers and metal craftsmen. In December 1398, he became a master goldsmith and a sculptor working with cast bronze.[6][14]
Sculpture – Competition for the Florence Baptistry doors[edit]
Brunelleschi's earliest surviving sculptures are two small bronze statues of evangelists and saints (1399–1400) made for the altar of the Crucifix Chapel Pistoia Cathedral.[15] He paused this project in 1400, when he was chosen to simultaneously serve two representative councils of the Florentine government for about four months.[16]
Around the end of 1400, the city of Florence decided to create new sculpted and gilded bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery.[17][a] A competition was held in 1401 for the design, which drew seven competitors, including Brunelleschi and another young sculptor, Lorenzo Ghiberti. Each sculptor had to produce a single bronze panel, depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac within a Gothic four-leaf frame. The panels each contained Abraham, Isaac, an angel and other figures imagined by the artists, and had to harmonize in style with the existing doors, produced in 1330 by Andrea Pisano. The head of the jury was Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who later became an important patron of Brunelleschi. The jury initially praised Ghiberti's panel. When they saw Brunelleschi's work, they were unable to choose between the two and suggested that the two artists collaborate on the project.[18] Brunelleschi refused to forfeit total control of the project, preferring it to be awarded to Ghiberti. This divided public opinion.[18]
Brunelleschi would eventually abandon sculpture and devote his attention entirely to architecture and optics,[19] but continued to receive sculpture commissions until at least 1416.[20]
Diagram of Brunelleschi's experiment in perspective
The Delivery of the Keys fresco, 1481–1482, Sistine Chapel, by Perugino (1481–1482), features both linear perspective and Brunelleschi's architectural style
Fictional depictions[edit]
Brunelleschi is portrayed by Alessandro Preziosi in the 2016 television series Medici: Masters of Florence.[63]
The principal buildings and works designed by Brunelleschi or which included his involvement, all situated in Florence: