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This content explores the multifaceted world of 15th-century Italian art and architecture, highlighting the societal structures, economic drivers, artistic practices, and groundbreaking innovations that defined the Renaissance. It emphasizes the crucial role of guilds, patronage, materials, and the evolving status of artists, culminating in the revolutionary architectural achievement of Brunelleschi's dome.
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15th century italy
this is the italian peninsula easily
distinguished by its boot shape
italy before its political unification
in the later 19th century
was a collection of city-states that
differed in political organization among
for example florence and siena in tuscany
tuscany
were republican communes ruled by an
elected council
while milan in the north was ruled by
the local lord
the papal states in central italy were
ruled from rome by the pope
while the kingdom of naples and sicily
in the south
was governed by a monarch a king
of great importance to the economies of
city-states in the italian peninsula
were the guilds which exerted
considerable influence on civic governments
governments
guilds were associations of workers that set
set
standards of work on prices and
protected the rights of workers and
their families
they're like the modern-day labor unions
although unions do not set prices
in florence where guilds were
particularly powerful
membership in a guild was a requirement
artists who were classified as artisans
throughout the middle ages and well into
the renaissance
did not have their own guilt given our
notion of the importance of artists and
artistic production during this period
in italy
this may be a little strange in 1314
painters were admitted to the medici speciali
speciali
the guild of physicians and apothecaries
because their pigments were considered
chemical substances
goldsmiths and sculptors in bronze
belonged to the seta
guild of silk manufacturers while
sculptors in wood and stone had their
own guild
these guilds were important patrons of
art in fact
artistic patronage was one of the many
functions of the guilds
in florence guilds commissioned works of
art for their own buildings
as well as for the city's churches and
they hire the most important emerging artists
artists
while some guilds commissioned specific
works of art from artists
other guilds commissioned entire
buildings to be built such as this one
this is the hospitality day de inucenti
hospital of the innocence
commissioned from philippa burnaleski by
the arte de la sata
this building was an orphanage where
unwanted children could be left
safely and anonymously and be cared for
represented on the roundels on the
facade of the building
our images of babies which declare the
the hospitale still operates today in
the field of child protection
it is a research center for unicef and
also a daycare
it also functions as a temporary center
for abandoned or orphaned children
before they are assigned to families and homes
we are fortunate that the hospital still
stands where it was originally intended
however much of the works produced
during the renaissance
are no longer in their original location
and are fragmentary
for example altarpieces have been broken
apart for multiple sales
with pieces divided between different
museums or private collections
while buildings have been renovated to
accommodate new owners or new needs
on contrary to the implications of their
display in museums
works of art were not always stationary
nor were they seen
all the time many were portable small
painted devotional images
could be carried by their owners from a
city palace to a country villa
and could be opened or closed as
required for special occasions for example
example
small prayer books could be easily
carried when traveling
we have to remember that works of art
were functional in this culture
and could therefore be renewed or even
discarded according to need
and any commission for a work of art
during the renaissance
manifested not only the wishes of the purchasers
purchasers
but also took into consideration the
also remember that renaissance art
obviously spoke more immediately to its contemporaries
contemporaries
than it does to a modern viewer the
images and attributes of saints or
classical heroes
along with their symbolic meanings were
part of an
individual's intellectual equipment in
the culture of the time
for example the scene of the annunciation
annunciation
could be identified by the figure of the
virgin and the angel gabriel
this painting is by simone martini from
this annunciation is by leonardo da
vinci from the 1470s
the figures of the virgin and gabriel
let's move on to the materials and
methods of the artist
how things were done or made during this period
period
it was often more important to know what
an object is made from
how valuable are the materials and how
it was made
how refined is the technique for 15th
century patrons
the emphasis on the artist and
authorship was not always crucial
in the renaissance materials and
artistry were closely linked
the more expensive rare or unusual the substance
substance
the more deserving it was of fine
let's move on to the materials and
methods of the artist
how things were done or made during this period
period
it was often more important to know what
an object is made from
how valuable are the materials and how
it was made
how refined is the technique for 15th
century patrons
the emphasis on the artist and
authorship was not always crucial
in the renaissance materials and
artistry were closely linked
the more expensive rare or unusual the substance
substance
the more deserving it was of fine
if the apprentice is learned quickly or
are especially talented
the master assigned them specific tasks
in major commissions
like painting the background or minor figures
figures
and eventually allowing them full
collaborative status
as in this painting by andrea del
verrocchio called baptism of christ
this work is significant in that it is
the first documented work by leonardo
who was trained in verochio's workshop
scholars argue that it is probable that
leonardo also painted much of the
background landscape
as it is painted in oil like his angel
while the rest of the painting is in tempera
tempera
in leonardo's angel notice the
highlights on the hair
the softness of the features and
contractual arrangement with patrons
often require the artist to submit a
drawing in the case of painting or sculpture
sculpture
or a model in the case of sculpture and architecture
architecture
the purpose of this was to give the
patron a clear idea
of what he or she could expect for the
finished product
presentation drawings are significantly
different from the preliminary sketches
that an artist might make to work out
his ideas
they had weight of a legal document that
did models
the designs of presentation drawings and
models were expected to be adhered to closely
closely
the full-scale drawing on the left was
presented to the building committee of
the hospitale de la scala in siena
the finished product in bronze the image
on the right
was for the altar of the hospital chapel
as you can see from the comparison the
design from the presentation drawing was
although we have many surviving
contracts from the renaissance
however they described virtually nothing
of the complicated exchanges
that must have occurred between patron
and artists
in establishing the content and meaning
of the work of art
the terms frequently mentioned that the
work is to be done by the artists on hand
hand
as opposed to an assistance and they stipulate
stipulate
the quality of the pigments and how much
gold or lapis lazuli should be used
the best quality lapis came from the east
east
while a cheaper blue pigment came from germany
germany
contracts sometimes specified the
subject of the commission
and also give a final date for
completion of the work along with terms
of payment
and indication of penalties for failure
to meet the terms of the contract
the production of art was to a great
extent an economic transaction
today the italian renaissance is firmly
associated with fresco painting
fresco painting was a faster cheaper and
more durable alternative to cloth and tapestry
tapestry
although less labor-intensive and with
lower material costs
it still required considerable skill
indeed fresco painting was among the
most complex
projects undertaken during the renaissance
renaissance
fresco literally meaning fresh is simply
painting on wet plaster
this medium was used to decorate large
wall areas of both public and private buildings
buildings
the wall was first prepared by the
application of a layer of rough plaster
called arizo
then an under drawing the cenopia was
often rapidly sketched in
then a fine layer of wood plaster the intonacle
intonacle
was laid on the arizo in section
each section was painted using pigments
mixed with water
and allowed to dry before a new suction
in the true fresco technique painting on
wet plaster
the pigment would be painted directly
onto the wet plaster
in order to bond with the wall creating
a fixed
stable surface that could not be erased
and is virtually indestructible
this meant that the painter had to work
rapidly and efficiently
and that only as much plaster would be
laid down as he could finish in
approximately one day
this daily section was known as giornata
derived from the italian word for day giorno
painters worked from the top down to
avoid dripping on an already finished surface
surface
and the joints between the plastered
areas can often be easily identified
there were many variables involved in
fresco painting
and the technique was highly dependent
on the weather
too cold and wet and the plaster would
not dry
too hot and it would dry before the
section had been completed
the temptation to find ways of slowing
down the pace of true fresco
led to experiments with the use of
fresco sako
or dry fresco that is painting on dry
prepared wall
in this fresco by massachu you can see
that the artist
first worked rapidly on the upper
sections of the wall
but gave a great deal of attention to
the faces of the central characters
this image shows masacho's 10 days worth
by the mid-15th century italian artists
in naples
venice and florence began to incorporate
the flemish technique of oil painting to
although occasionally used on panel oil
painting was more often used with a
cloth base such as linen
in this technique pigments are suspended
in an
oil medium giving an easy application
and allowing corrections and adjustments
as the painting progresses
this also allowed greater richness of
color as the overlapping tones
interacted with one another compared to
painting in florence and rome
venetian artists preferred fuller
fleshier figures
the venetians did not favor the crisp
sculptural contours of michelangelo's forms
nor the classical restraint and
in contrast to the florentines the
venetian artist giorgione painted
directly on the canvas without making
preliminary drawings
because of this the florentine artist vasari
vasari
accused him of disguising poor
draftsmanship under the beauty of his colors
colors
in vasari's view drawing was a necessary
means of working out one's ideas and
preserving them
in fact however since giorgione used oil paint
paint
which dries slowly and appropriate for
the damp climate of venice
it would have been easier for him to
make revisions as he went along
in 1401 the arte del kalimala
the guild of wool refiners initiated a competition
competition
for a second set of bronze doors for the baptistry
there were seven artists who competed
for the commission
including felipe brunelleschi and
lorenzo giberti
there were 34 judges which included
clerics and representatives of the laity
most likely wealthy citizens of the city
the arte del kalimala who supervised the competition
competition
stipulated that each contestant was to
submit a relief panel showing the
sacrifice of isaac
the subject is found in genesis 22
when abraham was ordered by god to
sacrifice his son as proof of his faith
the subject of the relief is the moment
when abraham is about to plunge the
knife into isaac's neck
but is stopped by the miraculous
intervention of an angel
the relief panels were to employ the
quattrophil format
used by andrea pizano in his first set
of doors from the 1330s
it was an attempt to make a coherent
decorative program for
two of the competition reliefs survive
one by lorenzo guerberti
a goldsmith and the other by felipe bunnelski
bunnelski
a sculptor both were young artists with
little experience of major bronze casting
casting
both works reflect the emergence of the
new renaissance style
which encapsulate alternative
possibilities of style in early 15th
century florence
both artists portray the subject on a
flat background
both seem fascinated with repeated
curves of drapery
which are independent of the body beneath
beneath
the edges of drapery in brunelleschi's relief
relief
flutter in the wind to heighten the
both artists made references to the antique
antique
brunelleschi quoted a well-known ancient
roman statue known as the spinario or
thornpuller for the servant on the far left
left
and giberti used a new torso for his
but there are also differences gibeti's isaac
isaac
is a model of classical form his torso
turns slowly on its axis to face abraham
brunelleschi's figures however are
positioned even twisted
to reinforce the flat surface of the plane
plane
giberti's work is perhaps more elegant
its forms more restrained and graceful
than those of brunelleschi's
brunelleschi's relief however is the
more forceful of the two
his angel forcefully grabs the arm of abraham
abraham
as he is about to plunge his knife into
isaac's neck
in giberti's version there is less sense
of firm physical contact between
father and son the dynamic force of
brunelleschi's angel
is countered by the strong diagonal of
his abraham
pushing isaac forward into a contorted pose
pose
giberti's isaac in contrast is a
graceful classical nude
rendered with slight contrapposto that
is a twist at the waist resulting from a
shift in the stance
both scenes are set in a natural landscape
landscape
with the obliquely placed alters
accentuating the sense of
three-dimensional space
but gibberty pays more attention to
rhythmic patterns in the rock formations
whereas brunelleschi focuses intensely
on dramatic relationships gibethis
isaac displays the perfect proportions
of a male youth
vital yet graceful this figure was
certainly inspired by a study of ancient
roman nudes
there are other references to classical
antiquity in both reliefs
the naturalism and classical forms
present in both works
place them in the forefront of the new style
style
gibertis isaac is the first truly
renaissance nude
in this figure naturalism how we see
things in nature
and classicism referring to the art of
the classical past of greece and rome
are blended and creates a new vision of
in the end gibeti won the commission for
the doors
maintaining that he had won the
competition outright
he claims this in his commentaries which
is an autobiography of sorts
he says quote to me was conceded the
palm of the victory by all the experts
and by all those who had competed with me
me
to me the honor was conceded universally
and with no exception
to all it seemed that i had at that time
surpassed the others without exception
as was recognized by a great council
and an investigation of learned men unquote
however brunelleschi's biographer
antonio manetti claimed that the arte
del kalimala had called the competition
a tie manetti wrote quote
gathering together again they the judges
came to a decision and made the
following report to the opera
both models were very beautiful and for
their part
taking everything into consideration
they were unable to put one ahead of the other
other
and since it was a big undertaking
requiring much time and expense
they should commission it to both
equally and they should be partners
unquote the truth i'm sure lies
whatever the facts the lyrical quality
of giberti's figures and his decorative treatment
treatment
of form embodied the most advanced
visual language in europe at the time
and must have suggested to the arte del
talimala that he was ideal for the job
also the fact that giberti's submission
had been cast in one piece
with the exception of the figure of
isaac brunelleschi's was cast in seven pieces
pieces
making it less expensive to produce were
probably factors in his victory
the additional fact that giberti's
figures were hollow
and therefore required less bronze
likely factored into the committee's decision
decision
lastly the numerous fine details such as
the small lizard
crawling over the stones had demonstrated
demonstrated
a more sophisticated understanding of
bronze technique than his rival's work
which was composed of numerous figures
by the time gibberty signed his contract
for the doors at the end of 1403
the kalimala had changed the subject
matter from an old testament
to a new testament narrative the life of christ
christ
to complement andrea pizano's life of
john the baptist on the south doors
the scenes from the life of christ
occupies the top 20 panels
while the eight lower panels represent
the four evangelists and the four
doctors of the church
work on the doors lasted until 1424
when they were finally installed in the baptistry
at the corner of each panel giberti has
depicted a projecting male head
including his own cell portrait between
the enunciation and
nativity in the central vertical of the
consistent with self-portraiture in the renaissance
renaissance
was the new interest in autobiography
and both were outcomes of the belief in
the significance of individual achievement
shortly after completing the second set
of bronze doors for the baptistry in 1424
1424
giberti received a commission from the
arte del kalimala for the third and
the 10 panels reduced from the 28
originally intended depict old testament stories
which statuettes have individual
prophets and sybils
instead of the quattrophil format used
for his first doors
gibethi used square frames for these beliefs
beliefs
and unlike the reliefs for his first
doors in which only the raised surfaces
were gilded
gebarti's second set was completely gilded
it took giberti 27 years to complete
these doors
when they were finished their
extraordinary splendor
one then prided a place on the east side
of the baptistry facing the cathedral
the space between the florentine
baptistry and the cathedral
was known in italian as paradiso because
of its use as a cemetery
giving giberti's doors the name by which
they are usually called
the gates of paradise according to
another tradition
recorded by vasari michelangelo said
that giberti's doors were
quote beautiful enough to grace the
according to visari after losing the
competition for the doors of the
baptistry in 1401
filippo goes to rome with donatello to
study ancient ruins
in contrast to donatello however
brunelleschi was said to have renowned sculpture
sculpture
and turned his attention to architecture
by 1417 brunelleschi had returned to florence
florence
there he designed the dome or cupola for
the cathedral
and submitted a model of it the
following year
this is the work for which he was and is
construction began in 1420 but the dome
was not completed until the summer of 1436.
1436.
its crowning feature the lantern which
was designed to admit daylight into the interior
interior
was executed according to brunelleschi's
plan after his death
although a large dome had been planned
for the cathedral for a long time
there was the big problem of how to
construct the vault across a large space
the diameter of the octagonal crossing
measures nearly 140 feet
the largest since the construction of
the pantheon in rome in the second century
whereas the pantheon had a circular drum
the 14th century octagonal drum of the cathedral
cathedral
didn't allow for a perfectly
hemispherical dome
this was part of the problem which had
baffled architects since the middle of
in 1418 brunelleschi submitted a model
and proposed a solution that eliminated
the need for the usual wooden scaffolding
scaffolding
that was normally built from the ground
upward for vaulting large spaces
instead brunelleschi proposed
constructing a scaffolding that was cantilevered
cantilevered
from the base of the drum and were moved
upward as the dome progressed in a
series of horizontal courses
this audacious and revolutionary plan
although brunelleschi's dome is
considered one of the masterpieces of
renaissance architecture
it deviates from classical presidents it
is pointed
rather than hemispherical tall rather
than round
it employs ribs eight visible sixteen hidden
hidden
in a manner similar to the construction
of gothic vaults
the smaller ribs alternated with the
large ribs
all of which were connected by
other construction features include a complex
complex
interlocking herringbone pattern of
brickwork to reduce cracks due to settling
and the most significant is the double
shell construction
an inner and outer dome shell that minimize
minimize
weight and at the same time provide
the material used for the double shell
of the cupola was brick
which is lighter than stone and the
space in between the two shells also
lightened the weight of the structure
the interlocking herringbone arrangement
of the individual bricks
provided additional support and
although a large dome had been planned
for the cathedral for a long time
there was the big problem of how to
construct the vault across a large space
the diameter of the octagonal crossing
measures nearly 140
feet the largest since the construction
of the pantheon in rome in the second century
once the building reached the open
circle the oculus or the eye
brunelleschi locked in the ribs to
prevent them from springing
outward the result is a slightly conical dome
the lantern was completed later by the
architect michelotzo
based on brunelleschi's design the
lantern itself is supported by external buttresses
buttresses
the technology of the dome won florence
enormous prestige
causing alberti to write metaphorically
in 1436
that the dome covered the entire tuscan
people with its shadow unquote
in the late 1540s after being named
architect in chief of saint peter's michelangelo
michelangelo
by then an old man was given three
passes into the cupola
so that he and two of his assistants
could inspect filippo's methods of construction
construction
before beginning work on the drum and
dome of saint peter's
a proud florentine michelangelo claimed
that he could equal philippo's dome but
never surpass it
in fact he did not even equal it for the
cupola st
peters completed in 1590 is almost
10 feet narrower unarguably much less
indeed in height and span the cupola of
the florence cathedral has never been surpassed
surpassed
sir christopher wren's cupola for saint
paul's cathedral in london
with a diameter of 112 feet is smaller
a more recent dome that of the capitol
building in washington dc
is only 95 feet in span less than
two-thirds the size of the one in florence
florence
not until the 20th century were wider
vaults raised
and then only by using modern materials
like plastic
high carbon steel and aluminum have
permitted the construction of vast tent
today as for the past 600 years
the mountainous form of the cupola
dominates florence
it looms above the narrow streets as you
walk them
or breaks unexpectedly into view when
you turn a corner
or enter a piazza from hotel balconies
or the terraces of cafes
there is something miraculous about the
side of the dome
regardless of where it is viewed from
whether up close
or far away the fact that it was built
by men
and amid war and intrigue with only a
limited understanding of the forces of nature
nature
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