Week 1

Classical Orders           

The different classical orders in the Renaissance had different meaning and were of great importance. There are three main orders which are the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Doric is the plainest order, the capital is made of a circle topped by a square and the shaft is plain with 20 sides and no bade. The Ionic Order was taller than the Doric and has flutes carved into the sides and the capital looks like a scroll. The Corinthian Order is the most decorative it also has flutes and its capital has flowers and leaves underneath a scroll. Then added later by the Romans were the Tuscan (a simpler form of the Doric) and the Composite order which was a combination of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. 

Florence Cathedral

The cathedral was started in 1294. Arnolfo di Cambio designed the Cathedral and is said to have been in charge from the beginning. The expense of the church was paid for by the Florentine Republic. It was 

designed to be stone vaulted and to have a very large dome. The problem of constructing the dome was unsolvable for about a century. Francesco Talenti was Arnolfo's architect in chief (capo-maestro). The cathedral was traditionally regarded as a temple of Mars in the fourteenth century. 

Florence, Cathedral and Baptistry

Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377 and died 1446. He was credited to the Renaissance style in architecture. He is known for covering the dome on the Cathedral in Florence starting around 1404. Usually a dome would be made by using a traditional centering process where a wooden beam is laid across the opening and a framework is built. But, this would be impossible due to the size of the dome nearly 140 feet across. Brunelleschi worked with Ghiberti starting in 1420 after being appointed co-executor of the dome by the Opera del Duomo. Ghiberti had also won the competition for the baptistry doors in 1401. They did not get on  very well. Brunelleschi built a dome that was pointed and was supported by ribs with the lightest infilling possible. There are two shells to the dome an outer and inner one. There are eight major ribs which can be seen from the outside and minor ones that can only be seen from the inside. These ribs are held together by horizontal arches that absorb side thrusts, which had been seen as a major problem. 

The Spedale degli Innocenti

Brunelleschi designed the Foundling Hospital and it was built between 1419 and 1424. The most important part of the building is the loggia (a corridor at ground level) which has a very classical Early Renaissance style. The inner face of the arches is flat and the capitals, columns and corbels are all of classic type. It has an air of classical antiquity.    

San Lorenzo, Florence(1421)

Brunelleschi built two large basilical churches in Florence, including San Lorenzo and Sta Croce. Both of them were based off of patterns of a Latin cross. S. Lorenzo was the parish church of the Medici family. It is made up of a large square central crossing, a square choir and smaller square chapels at either side of it. It has sculptural decoration by Donatello which is thought to have been added later. The church has a dome much like the one in Florence cathedral. The flat roof of the nave is much like that of early christian basilicas. Brunelleschi used dosserets above the capitals of the nave. These were used to carry the arches and vaults.