Notes HOA III - Renaissance
Notes HOA III - Renaissance
Notes HOA III - Renaissance
Renaissance
Prepared by - Shruti Mutalikdesai
Despite the rise of cities as economic and political centers in the Gothic period and the
resultant flourishing of secular life in the growing cities, people’s essential concern was still that
of religion. Accordingly, the building of great urban cathedrals continued and provided the
arena of the most probing architectural experimentation.
The Middle Ages ended in a series of unfortunate concurrent disasters (famine, plague – black
death etc) About 40% of European population died.
Threat from the east was spreading of the Islamic Seljuk Turks, Constantinople was one of the
last places to fall. After the fall, many Greek scholars from Constantinople shifted to Italy. It was
in central Italy by 1400 AD that there was growing optimism in human potential and a renewed
respect for the intellectual and artistic achievements of Classical Greece and Rome. It was
encouraged in part by the arrival of the emigrating Greeks from the East, Italian scholars,
painters, sculptors, and architects.
What the Italian artists and architects endeavored was to reconcile the beauty of Classical art
with Christian thought, to create a new architecture and art that was both Christian and
Classical. As the Middle Ages faded, a new spirit was born, a rebirth of a classical humanism, a
renaissance.
Significant contribution during this period came from the following people
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 –1446)
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (1396-1472)
Leon Battista Alberti( 1404-1472)
Donato Bramante (1444 –1514)
Andrea Palladio (1508 –1580)
Giacomo daVignola (1507 –1573)
Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475 – 1564)
Filippo Brunelleschi
His work relies on rationally ordered spaces. Notable architectural features include monolithic
columns, semicircular architrave and a stretched entabulature. He believed in working with
repetitive units (modules) to arrive at his spaces and elements. His notable works include the
dome at Santa Maria Della Fiore at Florence, Foundling Hospital at Florence, Church of San
Lorenzo and Church of Santo Spirito.
Foundling Hospital
This is an exemplary example of Brunelleschi’s system of working with modules. Here the height
of the columns is the same as the distance between the two columns, and this is the same as
the distance between the wall and the line of columns, thus volumetrically creating a cube.
This same measurement would then serve as the diameter for the semicircular arches. Each of
these arches, the column, the entabulature on top, the window atop and the triangular
pediment for the windows forms one module, which is the repeated to form the overall
elevation.
Foundling Hospital
St Andrea, Montua
San Maria Novella
Palazzo Rucellai
Andrea Palladio
Mostly worked in the region of Veneta (around Venice). Trained as a builder, used simple cubic
volumes & elemental forms of early renaissance. Most noted for his villas (built over 40 around
Venice). He used a symmetrical plan, creating porticos on multiple sides to get views from all
around. His villas were set amidst well designed large landscaped sites and sat on an elevated
portion to garner better views. They were also perched up on a high plinth, giving these villas a
grand appearance.
Rome had major artists and architects who were jointly assigned the work onn this church. It
has undergone several additions under several architects. Michelangelo was assigned to paint
ceiling frescos of the Vatican Chapel (Sistine Chapel), Raphael to paint the frescos in papal
apartment, Bramante to design and build new St. Peters. Eventually Michelangelo added to
the front of the church and the dome. Moderno added the elaborated front facade and later
on Bernini added the colonnade forming the piazza. Main aim was to establish the power of
church, show humanist values and overshadow the buildings of the paganic period.