Filippo Brunelleschi

The Duomo of Santa Maria Del Fiore (paradoxplace.com ())

Filippo Brunelleschi made one of the most important contributions in art and architectural history. He was a renaissance man because he had the spirit to push the limits of art, science and technology for new hopes. He pushed the limits by art and architecture through the building of masterpieces and breakthrough ideas. Have you ever thought of the world without three dimensional painting?

Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377 in Florence, Italy (biography.com). He was the second of three sons. His dad was a distinguished notary and lawyer in Florence. When he was 15 he started his training by enrolling into Arte della Seta (the merchant's guild). There he became a master goldsmith and a professional sculptor.

The Sacrifice of Isaac (thenagain.info)

In 1401 he was chosen by the council of Arte della Seta in a competition to sculpt the bronze reliefs for the baptistery of Florence. He competed against Lorenzo Ghiberti and they both were sculpting The Sacrifice of Isaac. Filippo lost the competition and it shocked him so much, that he stopped sculpting. He then moved to Rome with Donatello, another famous artist of the period. When he was in Rome he studied all the ruins that he could find for ten years, then went back to Florence (biography.com).

The Duomo (sacred-destinations.com)

When Filippo got back to Florence, he won the design contest and the opportunity to build the Duomo for Santa Maria del Fiore. There were two winners of the contest, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. The construction of the dome started in 1420 and was finished in 1436. Early in the project Ghiberti mysteriously died leaving Filippo as the main architect.

The construction of a dome that would be this large was considered impossible at the time. Filippo resolved the design challenges with a revolutionary new idea. There are two separate domes and each dome is supported by 24 stone ribs (Godfathers of the Renaissance). When the Dome was finished it was 308 ft. tall.

His most famous innovation, was linear perspective. Linear perspective is a method of drawing which lets you draw three dimensional objects on a two dimensional plain or flat objects (Khan Academy). This allows artists to draw three dimensional drawings and three dimensional paintings.

Thanks to Brunelleschi and linear perspective the world finally had three dimensional art. Filippo Brunelleschi defines a renaissance man because he pushed the limits of construction and without Brunelleschi there would be no Mona Lisa or any famous three dimensional paintings.