week 5

Todi, Santa Maria della Consolazione, 1504-1517
-Executed by Cola da Caprarola
located in Todi Italy
creator: Donato Bromante
-is a centralized church
-the interior is reminiscent of Tuscan designs, due to use of ribs and the placement of a larger second order on a lower order
-the exterior and interior harmonize
-has a high dome and has use of drum
-the dome was intended initially to be between two towers which are independent of the building
-have large apses and double pilasters

Raphael (1483-1520) 

Rome, Palazzo dell'Aquila, completed 1520
creator: P Ferrerio, based off Raphael  

-takes Bromante's ideas but the decoration is more complex when compared to Bromante's House of Raphael 

-it is richer in texture and the the decoration is not structural at all which is significant in its distinction
-all attention is focused on the piano noble 

-there are also columns on the ground floor which appear to be for support but are not, this became a stylistic trend which would dominate the arts in Italy for the rest of the century

-has alternation pediments triangular and semicircular, this is a new element associated with Rome and Raphael 

-empty niches which would have had statues and decorative swags-also at the top there are balisters to lighten the heavy cornice


Rome, Palazzo Caprini ("House of Raphael"), ca.1501-1510
Creator: Antonio Lagheri based off Bramante
located: Rome, Italy
-named after the painter Raphael

-it was probably built for Bramante himself, but later was lived in by Raphael

-was destroyed in the seventeenth century-shows Bromante's influence in the domestic palace
-prototype for modern classicizing palace particularly in Northern Italy
-It is a two story rectangular block
-the ground story is without orders and has heavy rustication it would have been used for stores
-the piano noble has Bromante's use of paired columns on independent pedestals

-It is significant because of its simplification and strict symmetry which is new-the windows have little balconies
-a trigliph frieze
-regular rhythm except for the bottom which has circle then square windows  

Rome, Villa Madama, 1518-1527
Creator: Raphael, Location: Rome, Italy
-building on a terraced sloping incline built into the hillside
-hanging gardens and fish pond
-has a 3 bay gallery
-orders going over multiple stones- more monumental
-there are cross mullion windows on the lower stories
-the pond is from a stream that was going down the hill
-the interior is a style based on real Roman painting-house of Niro
-use of grotesque, stucco and decoration
   Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, later Pope Clement VII (1523-1534)


The Tempietto (1502)
-Located in S. Pietro Rome in Montorio
- it is a small circular church built on the spot where St. Peter was crucified
-based off of the pantheon
-is called a martyrium
-it was conditioned by Bramantes desire to re-create antique forms in the service of modern christian needs
-a work of high renaissance
-consists of two cylinders: the peristyle and cella, the peristyle is low and wide and the cella is tall and narrow
-it is significant for being the first building to use the Tuscan order correctly, which was used because it was appropriate to the character of Peter 
-the frieze is carved with alternating metopes and triglyths, when looked at closely the metotypes are carved with liturgical instruments 

Belvedere Court (1506)
-Bromante's work on the Vatican Palace in Rome
-designed by Bromante
-an enormous amphitheater for Julius II
-is on three levels and stretches from the palace to a small villa called the Belvedere
-was 300 yards in length, with a large expanse of plain walling and on top there are arches and pilasters, the pilasters are paired and between each pair is a round-headed arch
- this treatment is similar to Alberti's division of the walls in S. Andrea in Mantua
-it was never completed and altered in the sixteenth century
-the intermediate levels had elaborate ramps and staircases and the whole design ended in a curved wall
-the open spaces between the arches have been glazed in because behind them are paintings done by Raphael and his pupils- this caused a loss of the original effect of lightness and shade that once was there


St. Peters Foundation Medallion
-struck on April 18th 1506
-drawing is what was thought to be Bramante's original project
-it is the only surviving drawing that can be regarded as certainly by him
-it says Templi Petri Instavracio meaning 'to restore, to revive, to bring to completion'
-they are deluxe records of high patronage that is being undertaken
-often could be quite large
-of St.Peters, it is what Julius II and Bramante were thinking about

I. Late Fifteenth-Century Architecture: Tuscany under the
Medici

Giuliano da Sangallo
>>Poggo a Caiano, Villa Medici, beg. ca. 1485
-to show it is geometric and controlled (in painting 1599 by Giusto Utens)
-built for the Singalo family
-there were garden towers for a beautiful view, the trees were planted in a pattern to be viewed horizontally
-typically associated with Lorenzo
- there is a temple at the front of the house creating the portico which has barrel vaulting, a central area to show prestige of the house
-the main level looks like a Roman Villa(antiquity)
-Has the Medici coat of arms and columns carried by entablatures
-windows with strong lentils and the openings are aligned with the interior
-there is now more of an apartment arrangement with clusters of rooms giving an increased sense of privacy.

   

Prato, Santa Maria delle Carceri, 1484-1506
creator: Guiliano da Sangallo
-location: Prato, Italy 
-Period:early modern
-pure greek cross
-has four equal arms and a small dome
-the covering is Bichrome a white and green marble -interior: ribbed dome supported on pendentives (like Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel).  
-exterior: has awkwardly proportioned double orders
-culmination of the early renaissance ideals of classical lightness and purity
- has closely paired pallasters on the exterior and goes from a tuscan to ionic order







Lombardy under the Sforza

-The Sforza family dominated the political scene from 1450 until 1499.
-The Sforzas particularly Lodovico il Moro were great patrons of the arts.
-Leonardo Da Vinci and Bramante worked for him for 20 years.
-When Francesco Sforza became a part of the dukedom the Tuscan influence was overlaid on the native Lombard tradition.


Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519)
-was in Milan from around 1482-1499
-he painted the last supper while in Milan
-the Last Supper is located on the end wall of the dining hall in the monastery at Santa Marie delle Grazi
-it was commisioned by the Sforza to be the centerpiece of the mausoleum
-he had a preoccupation with the centralized church and did many architectural drawings of churches although he never built anything.

Donato Bramante (1444-1514)
 Milan, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, apse and sacristy, 1478-1486
-reconstruction of Santa maria San Satiro a small 19th century building in Milan
-east end is constructed as a perspective illusion
-are architectural planes and voids like in a painting, rather than three-dimensional solids(Brunelleschi)
-it is a Greek cross in a square inside a circle- typical Early Christian design
-exterior shows Florentine influence
Three Main Stages
-lowest is cylindrical in shape with deep niches set between pairs of pilasters and alternating with smooth walls
-second story has four arms of the Greek cross rising out of the cylinder, each arm contains a window and the roofs are gabled
-third level has a small circular lantern

 Milan, Santa Maria delle Grazie, apse, 1492-1497
-long, low nave and aisles, built by another architect in the 1460s
-very large tribune which rises into a polygonal drum and small lantern at East end
-apsidal projections on the three free standing sides, two are transepts and third terminates the choir
-independant, centrally planned building loosely attached to the long nave
-interior: one of lightness and clarity, with geometric patterns(painted wheel windows) 

Milan Cathedral 1387-1572

Period Medieval

style gothic

Week 3

Rediscovery of the Classical Past: Alberti and Antiquity

Leone Battista Alberti(1401-1472) 

Was born in Genoa and was one of the greatest scholars of his age. He was given an excellent education going to two universities first the University of Padua where he learned greek and latin and then the University of Bologna where he studied law. In 1428 the banishment of his family was revoked and he went back to florence. Alberti then took up the practice of architecture in Florence which is when he probably first met Brunelleschi, Donatello and Ghiberti. Alberti later went to Rome to study the ruins of classical antiquity. Alberti was more interested in the rules governing the arts then in the structural system of architecture.  

De re Aedificatoria (ten books of architecture) 

Written by Alberti in 1452. This was written to the basic principles of architecture by Vitruvius as a guide without copying him. Much of his treatise is recognizable as a product of the early Humanist age. He refers to development one's own capacity in order to secure the public good. He looks at architecture as a designer rather than just a builder. He also gives examples to regularize use of classical elements. In De re Aedificatoria he refers to the column as the principle ornament of architecture. This showed he was ignorant of the functional nature of the column in greek architecture.

San Francesco, Rimini 1450 

Alberti designed the church San Francesco for Sigismondo Malatesta the ruler of Rimini. With this church Alberti was no longer harmonizing with prior work but he was cloaking for a classical facade. It is know for its white marbe facade and arcade of large arches facing the south and containing the sarcophagi. The arches also have engaged columns. It ranks as one of the foremost churchs in italy. It has six chapels one containg Sigismondo and his wife.

Santa Maria Novella- (facade-1458-1470)

This Florentine church was commissioned by the Rucellai family. It's design was off of an existing building. The building was originally a gothic type of church. Alberti maintains the use of serpentine green and white marble but not the gothic style. He uses the corinthian capital and the the name of the patron is at the top of the church as well as sails representing the Rucellai family. He divided the building into equal sections, the height of  the building is equal to its width forming a large square. Also the lower part of the facade is divided by the main door which form two squares. Each of these squares is one quarter the area of the large square. Also the scrolls are used a transitional method and the large occuli is matched by medallions at the center and on the sides. This is very characteristic of Alberti's work. As said by Peter Murray, "Alberti frequently adverts to the necessity for such simple harmonic proportions. 

San Sebastiano, Mantua beg.1460

San Sebastiano is one of two churchs designed by Alberti in the later years of his life. It is building is a Greek cross in plan. The church has a high flight of stairs because Alberti thought churches 'should stand  on a high base isolated from the world around them. It has a classical temple front. The greek cross represents the perfection of god. The church may have been based off of two possible churches, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia of about 450 and the Church of Sta Croce of the same date. This greek cross plan was not all that popular because it was hard to place a congregation. It was commissioned to be built by Lodovico Gonzaga.

Sant' Andrea, Mantua beg.1470

S. Andrea was designed just two years before Alberti died. Much of the church was not completed until the eighteenth century. The plan of this church is a Latin Cross type. In S. Andrea there are no aisles but a series of alternating large and small spaces opening off the nave at right angles to it. The larger spaces are used as chapels. The nave has a tunnel-like character. Alberti was modeling off of roman prototypes in hi interior. The nave of S. Andrea has a barrel-vault with painted coffers. It is by far the largest and heaviest nave since classical times. Due to this weight enormous abutments(solid masonry placed to resist the lateral pressure of a vault) carry the weight of the vaulting. This type of Latin cross plan was very widely copied in the later sixteenth century. The facade has an interlocking of a classical triumphal arch with a classical temple front. You can see in this building and other later building designed by Alberti that he was much more dependent on Roman prototypes. 

Palazzo Rucellai
The palace was designed by Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and is located in Florence Italy. It is three stories with stylar masonry and superimposition. It has pilasters and entablatures. The pilasters are a part of the wall. It has rustication and each story has a different classical order. Tuscan at the bottom, Ionic on the second level and Corinthian on the third. The two upper stories have arched windows. It was also worked on by Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1463)

Palazzo Venezia (1455-1491)

A palace in central Rome traditionally attributed to Alberti. The patron of the church was Cardinal Pietro Barbo later called Pope Paul the second. It has the apperance of a medeival fortress. But, it has some of the first Renaissance architectural features in Rome. The Palace has cross-mullioned windows. The original structure was a modest medieval house intended for the cardinals of the church of San Marco. 

Cancelleria Vecchia (1485-1511)

It is a Renaissance Palace in Rome. It was built for Cardinal Raffaele Riario. Its design looks influenced by Alberti with its flat doubled pilasters between arch headed windows. It's long facade engulfs the small Basilica Church of San Lorenzo in Damaso.  

Week 2

Santa Croce, The Pazzi Chapel(1429-1460s)

The Pazzi Chapel is designed by Brunelleschi. The Chapel was built for the Pazzi family whose wealth was second only to the Medici family. The building was for teaching monks and other religious reasons but, is suspected to have been used to show the Pazzi family's wealth and power. It was done by Brunelleschi due to its geometric forms of the square and circle. The building was not finished until after Brunellschi's death and the outside is not as he wanted it to be. He had recently visited Rome and this can be seen through his approach to Roman Architecture. There was also a use of colouristic effects of the type traditional in Florence.


Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1445)

Competition panels for the Baptistry doors, 1401
Period/style: early Renaissance
location: Florence, Italy
Ghiberti won the 1401 competition to create a set of bronze doors for the Baptistry doors of the cathedral in Florence beating Brunelleschi. It depicts scenes from the New testament and the work was partly Gothic in style. Ghiberti used lost-wax casting as used by the ancient Romans. The doors consisted of 28 panels and shows an early renaissance style.
Appointed co-executor dome by Opera del Duomo, 1420

Ghiberti worked alongside Brunelleschi on the dome of the Florence cathedral. There is much debate on how much Ghiberti contributed compared to Brunelleschi. But according to Ghiberti, "few things of importance were made in our city which were not designed or devised by my hands. And especially in building the cupola Filippo and I were competitors for eighteen years at the same salary. thus we executed the said dome." Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were both goldsmiths and entered a competition for the design of the dome and both were appointed by the Opera del Duomo to be supervisors of the building program. It is said that Brunelleschi after some time became in full charge of operations whilst Ghiberti was reduced to a consultant(Leopold D. Ettlinger). This is mostly due to his having to work on the Baptistry doors.


Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472)
Executor of Lantern, 1446-1467
Michelozzi was the executor of the Lantern that went on top of Duomo de Florence after Brunelleschi's death. He finished Brunelleschi's design. The lantern had the most classical elements of the building. Classical scallop shell motifs and scrolls with rosettes were used.



Florence, Palazzo Medici (Riccardi), 1446-1459
The Palazzo Medici designed by Michelozzi is early renaissance domestic architecture. His design was chosen over Brunelleschi's design which Cosimo de' Medici thought was "too elaborate and that 'envy is a plant one should  never water'. Michelozzi was influenced by Brunelleschi and the Palazzo Medici shows influence of Brunelleschi's ideas on palace design. The design embodies new principles of symmetry and mathematical arrangement and there are three stories topped by an enormous classical cornice. The inside has re-working of a traditional type with great attention to proportion and symmetry. The basic shape is a hollow square with a large, open, central court. The court is the facade of the founding hospital except Michelozzi omits the large pilasters which causes the angles of the court to appear weak. Also he used bi-fora windows on the first floor similar in shape to the arches below them. You can see that he used rustication(squared blocks) and round headed openings with strongly marked voussoirs (not pointed) on the first floor of the building. Both are used to give the ground a rugged appearance.


Florence, Palazzo Strozzi(1484-1536)
The Palazzo Strozzi is separate from the Palazzo Medici because it is much larger and has smoother rustication running up the whole height of the facade. There is a document showing payment to Guiliano da sangallo(1443- 1516) for making it. But, it is generally believed that Guiliano was paid only for executing the model and not for designing it. The grand cornice was designed by Il Cronaca(1457-1508).These domestic palaces are significant for providing models for most of the rest of Italy. Almost every Italian town can show examples of large houses with similar grandiose features that are referred to as Italian palaces.