Quattrocento Architecture: Brunelleschi & Alberti’s Renaissance
Item 8: Architecture of the Quattrocento
Brunelleschi and Alberti
The Renaissance: Definition, Characteristics, and Chronology
The Renaissance, originating in Italy during the early modern age, aimed to revive Greco-Roman art and humanism, updating it while maintaining Christian traditions. Understanding Renaissance art requires considering cultural and scientific developments.
The origins of this new style include:
- The economic and social growth of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Economic power and leaders’ desire to display it led to the emergence of art patrons, including nobles and the Papacy.
- The survival of classical art elements influenced Italian medieval art (Gothic and Romanesque).
Chronology: The Italian Renaissance developed in two phases:
- Fifteenth Century (Quattrocento): Florence was the main artistic center. This century was marked by experimentation and the desire to recover ancient styles.
- Sixteenth Century (Quinquecento): Rome, under Papal patronage, became the new artistic center. The revival reached its peak, represented by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raphael Sanzio.
The Architecture of the Quattrocento
a) General Characteristics:
- The Renaissance broke with precedent styles, modeling itself on ancient Rome, using arches, pediments, columns, pilasters, and barrel vaults.
- Various decorative elements, called grotesques (flowers, fruits, trophies, ribbons, wreaths, and medallions), were used.
- Emphasis was placed on calculated and mathematical perfection.
- The wall returned to its primary function as a load-bearing structure.
- Simple forms were used (eliminating pointed arches and wooden ceilings).
- The five classical orders were revived.
- Churches merged basilica and centralized plans.
- Urban palaces (Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Rucellai), country houses (Villa Capra Palladio), and fortresses were built.
- The main architects of the Quattrocento were Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti.
b) Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
Brunelleschi had a mathematical and architectural background and was also a goldsmith and inventor of machines and construction techniques. He was an innovator, notably commissioned to complete Florence Cathedral.
His main works include:
1. Dome of Florence Cathedral (Church of Santa Maria del Fiore)
- Name: Cathedral of Florence (Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore)
- Architect: Brunelleschi
- Chronology: 1418-1446
- Location: Florence
- Style: Quattrocento
- Materials: Brick, stone, marble
- Dimensions: 114m high and 41m in diameter
- Building Type: Church
Analysis:
It is considered the first major work of Renaissance architecture. Built on the existing Gothic cathedral between 1418 and 1446.
- Exterior: Presents a slender ogival profile achieved through the curvature of eight 4m-thick white marble ribs, joining at a lantern. The eight-sided dome, covered with red tiles, stands on an octagonal drum lined with marble, with a large circular window on each side.
- Interior: Built without formwork or scaffolding from the ground. Designed as a double dome with a hollow space between the two for lightness.
2. Basilica of San Lorenzo
- Name: Basilica of San Lorenzo
- Architect: Brunelleschi
- Chronology: 1421-1470
- Location: Florence
- Style: Quattrocento
- Materials: Brick, stone, and marble
- Building Type: Church
Analysis:
Commissioned by Cosimo de Medici, it exemplifies patronage, eliminating medieval forms and decorative elements.
The space is structured on a longitudinal plan, where architectural elements and light create a perspective view.
The nave’s roof is decorated with a lintel and large coffers, while the aisles are vaulted. Semicircular arches divide the space into three naves. Columns with composite capitals, pilasters, arches, and a coffered ceiling are used in the nave. Large windows are placed at the top of the nave and oculi on the sides.
3. Pazzi Chapel:
Located in the cloister of the Franciscan convent of Santa Croce in Florence, this small chapel was built between 1430 and 1444. Its structure is simple, with a rectangular frame and a square apse at the bottom. It is rectangular with a ribbed dome on pendentives, topped by a lantern. The portico’s front has two side entablatures and a central arch. The interior is sober, decorated with medallions, moldings, and pilasters.
4. Loggia of the Hospital of the Innocents:
The first public hospital for abandoned children, it revives architectural orders. Large arches, general simplicity, and the subordinate role of sculpture are key features. Construction began with the loggia in 1419. Pilasters are used at the corners. It consists of nine arches on Corinthian columns. Medallions between the arches depict infants in swaddling clothes. Semicircular arches on columns are used for the first time, with triangular pediments over the first-floor windows. White walls contrast with gray stone, accentuating the architectural elements.
5. Palazzo Pitti
A work from 1440, it is a model Renaissance palace, omitting defensive towers and featuring rustication across the entire facade, giving it an appearance of strength.
c) Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)
Alberti, a scholar and student of antiquity, wrote the treatise De re aedificatoria, which emphasizes the importance of proportions in buildings. He believed architecture should be subject to reason. His most important works include:
1. San Francesco (Tempio Malatestiano) (1450)
Commissioned by Sigismondo Malatesta to renovate the Church of San Francesco, it was intended for worship and as a memorial to his beloved Isotta and artists and poets. Alberti’s incomplete facade mimics Roman triumphal arches, using elements like arches, adjacent columns, and niches.
2. Facade of Santa Maria Novella
Alberti used the square as a module. The facade can be inscribed in a square. The system of uniting the two floors with two large S-shaped scrolls foreshadows the Baroque facade, which uses coils and fins to link the central pediment with the aisles and attach the lower, wider part to the upper. Two colors of marble (green and white) are used for decoration.
3. Palazzo Rucellai:
- Name: Palazzo Rucellai
- Architect: Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)
- Chronology: 1446-1451
- Location: Florence, Italy
- Materials: Stone and marble
- Building Type: Civil architecture
Analysis:
- Exterior (facade): Adapted to a confined site surrounded by other buildings. Alberti created a beautiful facade with classical elements. It starts with a base featuring a bench for waiting. The ground floor has Doric pilasters and square openings, doors, and windows with horizontal lintels. The first and second floors have Ionic and Corinthian pilasters, respectively, with mullioned windows framed by arches. Each floor is separated by a classical entablature. The upper cornice is prominent and supported by corbels. The use of smooth stones of different sizes and the gradation of reliefs in pilasters, trims, windows, and doors prevent monotony.