HUMANITIES: RENAISSANCE HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY & ARCHITECTURE

HUM2230 – Lec1_Ital_Renais_Hist_Phil_Architecture - power point notes

(1) Italian Renaissance: History – Philosophy - Architecture

Early Renaissance- French word (used 19th c.) meaning “rebirth” to describe period – early 15th c. to mid 16th c.

Italians at this time viewed this period as a radical break from the past and reinvention of the civilization and ideals of classical Greece and Rome.

· Others date the whole period at about 1300-1600 - that was a new period of learning and creativity in Europe.

· This doesn’t mean that medieval period was a dark age. There was still culture, learning, and such going on then. During the Early Renaissance, however, there’s a sudden explosion of it and it takes a markedly different form from what was seen during the Middle Ages.

(2) Europe Map: 1500 – Countries, Empires, City-States, Royal territories

(3) Europe Map – Renaissance – showing major cities

This map illustrates Europe in the time of the Italian and Northern Renaissance, as well as some of the cities which served as centers for artistic and humanist activities during the period.

(4) Italy: History: Early Renaissance (with Map) (about years 1425-1500)

When we talk about the Renaissance, it largely began in Italy, especially northern Italy. Why there?

· One big reason was economics.

· Trade was very important the Italian city-states. Demand for luxury goods increased trade. Increased trade led to more tradesmen becoming wealthy and wanting more luxury goods, and on and on.

· It wasn’t uncommon for the merchants to be richer than the local nobles.

· Northern Europe was also embroiled in the Hundred Years War in the early-going.

· Due to the power and wealth of the merchants and guilds, the feudal system broke down here. Feudal lords didn’t run the show here, which helped to secure money and remove laws that inhibited commerce.

· In the beginning, Florence is the city-state in which the Renaissance was most prominent.

(5) History: Early Renaissance--Important broad changes developed

· (click) Intense religiosity of Middle Ages –came to coexist with a more worldly, secular outlook.

· Capitalism/Banking – rise of middle class

· Florence: center of trade & European banking

· (click) Exploration of Americas

· (click) Scientific/Technology developments (navigation)

· Printing press (HUGELY significant) (1455)

· (click) Italy: increased political stability; urbanization

· Development of nation-states

· Contact with other societies (commercial/cultural exchanges)

· Arab scholars: preserved and commented on ancient Greek texts

· (click) Emphasis on Humanism and rationalist thought

6) Cosimo de’ Midici

Florence ruled by seven major guilds and lesser guilds – by middle of fourteenth century had achieved some measure of political voice – city prided itself on its representative government. Still there was a division between those who favored the Holy Roman Emperor and those who favored the popes. Civil strife – Florence needed a leader.

Medicis’ Florence – Family led Florence – cultural center of Renaissance Europe in 15th c.

· Gained fortune by lending money.

· Set up branch banks in major Italian cities; close financial allegiances with papacy in Rome.

· Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) ruled from behind the scenes.

· He built the first public library – classics, works of Plato and Aristotle.

· He employed virtually every major artist, architect, scholar. His leadership created atmosphere in which the arts could prosper.

· As in the Platonic academy of Athens, it was seen by those of Humanist understanding that those people who had the benefit of wealth and education ought to promote the pursuit of learning and the creation of that which was beautiful.

· To this end, wealthy families:- such as the Medici in Florence gathered around them people of learning and talent, promoting the skills and creating employment for the most talented artists and architects of their day.

· Fresco by Bronzino. (verify this)

(7) Lorenzo (the Magnificent) (Cosimo’s grandson) – [p6 or 7] a leading poet, a muscician, sponsored festivals and pageants; lived grandly – built palaces and parks.

· Acquired gemstones and vases – better investment than paintings.

· By time of death (1492) Medici bank in trouble and Florence on verge of bankruptcy.

(8) Four Humanist philosophers – fresco

(9) Five Major Currents

Classical Humanism, Humanistic Platonism, Renaissance Individualism, Scientific Naturalism, Humanistic Aristotelianism

Humanitas [term] born in Rome around 150 B.C. It stood for the cultivated intelligence of a new imperial civilization, the heir of Greece, as opposed to barbaritas, “the way of the wild ones.”

· In the Chrisitan era, the term took on a connotation of transiency and misery in the face of eternity.

· The Renaissance – Humanitas is again man’s “high estate,” but it implies also fallibility and frailty:

hence venture, risk, responsibility, freedom, tolerance. (source 6)

(10) Classical Humanism

(click) The Humanist Spirit – worth and dignity of the individual; celbrating human reason, spirit, physical beauty

· echoed Protagorus in seeing human beings as the measure of all things.

· Characterized by an interest in the individual person, as well as a new fascination with nature and the physical world.

· (click) Petrarch (1305-1372) – father of humanism – learning was key to living virtuous life; life should be an eternal quest for truth. [term – truth]

· (click) Reinvigoration of classical learning based on the literary and philosophical writings of the Greeks and Romans –

· (click) classical humanism – pervasive – impacted social, political, education, arts, diplomacy.

· (click) European scholars benefitted from labors of Arab scholars who preserved much ancient Greek scholarship.

· No one in Italy could read Greek.

· Humanist scholars, financed by wealthy people, searched for long-ignored ancient Greek texts and transcribed them into Latin and Italian – much was done by 1400.

· 1453 – fall of Constantinople – Greek scholars fled into Italy.

· Johann Gutenberg’s invention of printing with movable type in 1455 – Greek learning spread rapidly.

· 1456 – 1500 more books published than had been copied by scribes in previous thousand years !! Many were in Italian – growing literacy of middle class.

· Building of libraries: Vatican Library (Pope Nicholas V); Medici Library – first lending library

(11) Platonic Academy of Philosophy – center of humanist study – in Florence

· (click) Neoplatonism – Platonic ideals as put forth by Plotinus (205-270 c.e.) [text says important shift from Aristotle during Middle Ages – actually, Plato was influential during much of Middle Ages – Aristotelianism was a later development] (8/9)

· Yet the Renaissance Platonists were now in a position to appreciate something of the humanistic, artistic, and imaginative side of Plato. . . . the Renaissance managed to make its Platonism an artistic way of life, a this-worldly religion of the imagination—attractive and reminiscent of another world . .

· (click) Cosimo began the academy (1462); Lorenzo, his grandson, was a big supporter.

· The philosophical thought of the early Humanists was amateurish, that of the Florentine Platonists embraced serious metaphysical speculation.

· (click) Marsilio Ficino, (1433-1499) – head of the Platonic Academy of Florence

· (after mid 15th c. – most important center of Platonic influence in W. Europe)

– a thinker who was not opposed to the traditions of the medieval schools and was influenced by them.

Masilio Ficino– translated Plato and Plotinus into Latin; wrote the Theologia Platonica.

· Plotinus argued – material and spiritual worlds could be united through ecstatic, or mystical, vision.

· Ficino conceived of beauty in the things of this world as God’s means of making himself manifest to humankind.

· Thus contemplation and study of beauty in nature—and in all things—was a form of worship.

· Spiritual love, inspired by physical beauty, moves beyond physical –eventually resulting in soul’s union with God.

(click) Thus various artists’ works were a type of spiritual love.

· A form of idealism – where one could discover the divine through real things of beauty.

· Neoplatonists envisioned Florence as a city whose citizenry was spiritually bound together in a common love of the beautiful.

(12) Renaissance and Individualism:

Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)—Neoplatonic philosopher at the academy; boundless optimism;

· Oration on the Dignity of Man – this is one of your assigned readings (portion of it)

· free will – persons can make of themselves what they wish – capable of being united with God.

· Individual destiny is a matter of individual choice.

· Humanist emphasis on the individual is NOT a rejection of God, but Pico places the responsibility for human action squarely on the humans.

· Individual genius flourished in Renaissance Italy as never before in Western world.

(13) Renaissance Individualism:

Desire for personal prestige through art; number and quality of portraits painted;

painters and sculptors became important (famous) personalities.

· High status of artists – included self-portraits in their paintings; signatures on their works became the rule, not the exception.

· [Ironically, Michelangelo realized his work was so highly individual that he no longer needed to sign it!]

· Artists were writing biographies of other artists, or autobiographies.

Note: much of the art for churches actually financed by, e.g., Medici family – not just from generous spirit, but as a way to have permanent monuments to themselves.

Human figures, whether prophets or portraits, became more personal and individual; figures were authentic personages rather than stylized abstractions.

Castiglione, who wrote Courtier, articulated the Renaissance ideal of the uomo universale, the universal man, who embodied all the aspects of Renaissance humanism and individualism in one person. (8, 261-5)

(14) Renaissance Man

To be a universal man (or Renaissance man), like Lorenzo here, you strove to become expert in the liberal arts as well as learn to sing, dance, and write poetry.

We will be looking at these other three Renaissance Men when we review their art works

(15) Scientific Naturalism

Naturalism – by the 14th century, representations of people and nature alike had already lost their value as otherworldly symbols within art, but, instead of being content with describing the world as seen by the eye alone, in Florentine 15th century – naturalism took a noticeably scientific turn.

(click) (8, 260/1) Scientific Naturalism: A close partnership between art and science developed during the 15th century,

with architects becoming mathematicians, sculptors anatomists, painters geometricians, and musicians acousticians.

· Leonardo’s notebooks –showing searching curiosity covering many subjects from astronomy to zoology.

· In painting, we seen the placing of figures in a more normal relationship to the space they occupy and the use of landscape settings; development of atmospheric perspective (Masaccio); working out rules for linear perspective.

· In medieval music, the emphasis had been on perfect intervals and mathematical rhythmic ratios in order to please the ear of God. Renaissance musicians now reversed the process by concentration on sounds that would delight the human ear;

· the extension of the range of musical instruments in both higher and lower registers, to broaden the scope of tonal space; development of pleasant harmonic textures, the softening of dissonances, writing of melodies that could be sung and danced to.

(click) This scientific spirit of free inquiry penetrated all the progressive aspects of life – reexamination of the forms of secular government – Machiavelli’s writings; and his attempt to apply the Thucydidean method of rational historical analysis in his History of Florence.

(click) Artists began to think less in terms of allegory, symbolism and moral lessons and more in terms of aesthetic problems, modes of presentation, and pictorial mechanics. . . . while still using allegory and symbolism in their subjects

Arts of painting and sculpture became firmly allied with geometrical and scientific laws, a union that lasted until 20th century expressionism and abstract art.

(16) Humanistic Aristotelianism

(click) Humanistic Aristotelianism –derived in an unbroken line from the academic thinking of the preceding centuries.

· This tradition, with its central concern for the fields of logic and method, natural philosophy and metaphysics – first appearance toward end of 13th century.

(click) Note: there was a significant difference between the way Aristotle was taken at Paris and in the Italian universities.

· In Paris the Aristotelian philosophers were either theologians or students of logic and of natural philosophy in the faculty of arts who had to defend themselves against a powerful theological faculty.

· The Italian universities long had no faculties of theology. From the beginning Italian Aristotelianism developed as the preparation for medicine rather than for theology. This type of scientifically oriented philosophical thought was elaborated without interruption far into the period of the Renaissance and beyond.

· Aristotle continued to inspire the vigorous intellectual life of the Italian universities and to dominate the professional teaching of philosophy.

· The new humanistic tendencies . . . allied with Aristotelianism . . allied with and not opposed to an already flourishing scientific movement.

· Like most of the theologians, the Italian Aristotelians had regarded Averroes as the chief guide and commentator.

· But unlike the theologians, they had little motive to disagree with him on those points where he followed Aristotle or his Hellenistic commentators rather than the true faith.

(This version of Aristotle without benefit of clergy is hence known as Latin Averroism. It had accompanied the introduction of Aristotle at Paris in the 13th century; when its spokesman, Siger de Brabant, was condemned in 1270 and 1277, and, refuted by the more accommodating modernism of Thomas, it took refuge in the Italian medical schools.)

(17) Five major currents (review)

(18) Artists of Italian Renaissance

Renaissance is usually broken into two major timeframes by historians: Early and High

(19) Architecture (Italian Renaissance)

(click) Why Italy (start of Renaissance – architecture)

Italy had never fully adopted the Gothic style of architecture. Few Italian churches show the emphasis on vertically or other features that characterize the Gothic style in other parts of Europe.

· Italian architects had always preferred forms that were clearly defined and structures that expressed their purpose. The presence, particularly in Rome, of architectural remains showing the ordered Classical style provided an inspiration to artists at a time when philosophy was also turning towards the Classical.

Political: In the 15th century, Florence, Venice and Naples extended their power through much of the area that surrounded them, making the movement of artists possible. This enabled Florence to have significant artistic influence, especially in Milan and France.

In 1377, the return of the Pope from Avignon and re-establishment of the Papal court in Rome, brought wealth and importance to that city, as well as a renewal in the importance of the Pope in Italy.

· Successive Popes, especially Julius II, 1503–13, sought to extend the Pope’s temporal power throughout Italy.

· This new emphasis on Rome as the center of Christian spirituality, brought about a boom in the building of churches in Rome such as had not taken place for nearly a thousand years.

Commercial: (review) In the early Renaissance, Venice controlled sea trade over goods from the East.

The large towns of Northern Italy were prosperous through trade with the rest of Europe.

· The Medici became the chief bankers to the princes of Europe, becoming virtually princes themselves as they did so, by reason of both wealth and influence.

· Along the trade routes, and thus offered some protection by commercial interest, moved not only goods but also artists, scientists and philosophers.

(click) individual architects – rest of this presentation

(20) General Style: Architecture

(click) conscious revival and development of certain elements of Classical Greek and Roman thought and material culture.

(click)The Renaissance style places emphasison symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of Classical antiquity and in particular, the architecture of Ancient Rome.

· Orderly arrangements of columns, and other features, as well as the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches replaced the more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.

(click) Space, as an element of architecture, was utilized differently to the way it had been in the Middle Ages. Space was organised by proportional logic, its form and rhythm subject to geometry, rather than being created by intuition as in Medieval buildings.

(21) Re-birth of Classical Architecture

. . . For example (Tempietto means small temple)

(22) Patronage: Civic Pride

Through Humanism, civic pride and the promotion of civil peace and order were seen as the marks of citizenship. This led to the building of structures such as Brunelleschi's Hospital of the Innocents with its elegant colonnade forming a link between the charitable building and the public square.

· The Foundling Hospital was Brunelleschi’s first architectural commission. Its long roofed gallery would have been a rare sight in the tight and curving streets of Florence, not to mention its impressive arches, each 26 feet high. The building was dignified yet sober. There were no displays of fine marble and decorative inlays.[5] It was also the first building in Florence to make clear reference - in its columns and capitals - to classical antiquity.

· Giulio de' Medici, who had by this time become Pope Clement VII, commissioned the creation of this great library to house the vast Medici collection of books. The library could then be used by scholars.

· Michelangelo architect for the Laurentian Library. . the library was built in stages until Michelangelo's departure for Rome in 1534.

o The design, particularly that of the library's vestibule, is considered to be one of Michelangelo's greatest architectural achievements. . . . He designed the reading desks so they would fit in with the overall architecture. Years later, Michelangelo sent a drawing for the magnificent staircase, but he never saw the structure in its current state of completion.

· Some major ecclesiastical building works were also commissioned, not by the church, but by guilds representing the wealth and power of the city. Brunelleschi’s dome at Florence Cathedral, more than any other building belonged to the people of the city because the construction of each of the eight segments was achieved by a different sector of the city.

(23) Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

· Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377. He began his training in Florence as an apprentice goldsmith, gaining status as a master. He was active as a sculptor for most of his life.

· In 1401, Brunelleschi entered a competition to design a new set of bronze doors for the baptistery in Florence. We will be discussing this competition later. The point here is that because he lost that competition, he went on a long journey with friends to research and study the ancient Roman classical architectural ruins. . . . as a result . . .

· The person generally credited with bringing about the Renaissance view of architecture is Filippo Brunelleschi, (1377–1446). The underlying feature of the work of Brunelleschi was "order".

· (click) Besides accomplishments in architecture, Brunelleschi is also credited with inventing one-point linear perspective, revolutionized painting and allowed for naturalistic styles to develop as the Renaissance digressed from the stylized figures of medieval art.

· (click) Brunelleschi was the first architect to employ mathematical perspective to redefine Gothic and Romanesque space and to establish new rules of proportioning and symmetry.

· The buildings remaining among the ruins of ancient Rome appeared to respect a simple mathematical order in the way that Gothic buildings did not.

o For example: One incontrovertible rule governed all Ancient Roman architecture—a semi-circular arch is exactly twice as wide as it is high. A fixed proportion with implications of such magnitude occurred nowhere in Gothic architecture.

This desire for regularity and geometric order was to become an important element in Renaissance architecture.

(24) Brunelleschi: (click) Dome of Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore) (Mary, Saint of the [city of] Flowers) largest dome since what other building? (pantheon)Where did he see the pantheon? (Rome)

· In wealthy republican Florence, the impetus for church-building was more civic than spiritual.

· There is a complex history of the Florence Cathedral . . . by 1418 all that was left to finish was the dome.

· The unfinished state of the enormous cathedral dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary did no honor to the city under her patronage.

· The problem was that when the building was designed in the previous century, no one had any idea about how such a dome was to be built, given that it was to be even larger than the Pantheon's dome in Rome and that no dome of that size had been built since Antiquity.

· octagonal space – 140 feet wide.

· It clearly was impossible to obtain rafters for scaffolding long and strong enough (and in sufficient quantity) for the task, it was unclear how a dome of that size could be built, or just avoid collapse. It must be considered also that the stresses of compression were not clearly understood at the time, and the mortars used in the periods would only set after several days, keeping the strain on the scaffolding for a very long time.

o Brunelleschi studied the Pantheon and other monuments in Rome.

· In 1419, the wool merchant’s guild, held a competition to solve the problem. The two main competitors were Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, with (this time) Brunelleschi winning and receiving the commission.

· The dome inspired further religious works in Florence.

(25) [picture of dome] As Brunelleschi began to build the dome, most people in Florence shook their heads and said it was impossible. There was no conceivable way to build a dome that size that would be self-supporting. Brunelleschi was undaunted, and his plans began to take form.

(26)dome of Florence Cathedral [figs 13.4 13.5] – largest since Pantheon (125 c.e.). Octagonal.

Innovation – Brunelleschi's design contained two shells for the dome, an inner shell made of a lightweight material, and an outer shell of heavier wind-resistant materials. By creating two domes, Brunelleschi solved the problem of weight during construction because workers could sit atop the inner shell to build the outer shell of the dome.

· Metal lantern on top stabilized the whole with downward pressure to keep the ribs from spreading apart at top.

(27) DOME: Ring & Rib support. Herringbone pattern bricks

Ring and Rib support: Although this type of support structure is common in modern engineering, his idea and understanding about the forces needed to sustain the dome was revolutionary. The rings hug both shells of the dome, and the supports run through them. Other than a few modifications to remove rotted wood, the supports still hold up the entire dome.

· Another fear that a lot of people observing the construction had was how to actually get the bricks on the dome to stay up in the dome, and not fall to the ground during the construction. Once again, Brunelleschi had an ingenious idea that is common practice today, but revolutionary in its time. He created a herringbone pattern with the bricks that redirected the weight of the bricks outwards towards the dome's supports, instead of downwards to the floor. By observing carefully the curve of the dome as it took shape, Brunelleschi was able to place this bricks in key areas.

(28) Brunelleschi: Pazzi Chapel – (Florence)

Mathematical proportions more easily seen in this.

· The fruits of his studies of ancient Roman buildings are more evident – the break with the Gothic tradition is complete.

· It is now thought that Brunelleschi most probably was responsible for the plan, which is based on simple geometrical forms . . . but not for the building's execution and detailing.

· Harmonious spacing of the porch columns, walls as flat surfaces, balance of horizontal and vertical elements – make his design the prototype of the Renaissance architectural style.

(29) Pazzi Chapel: Prototype Style

· Other design details show his interest in authentic Roman originals. Interior – Roman classical concern with the logical molding of interior space.

· Lacks Gothic mystery and indefiniteness; cool, crisp impression. Dark stone divide surfaces into geometric forms easily understood by the eye.

· Mystery and infinity have yielded to geometrical clarity.

· This clear-cut simplicity made it a highly influential model throughout the Renaissance.

· The unity of its centralized organization under a unifying dome became the point of departure for the later church plans of Alberti, Bramante, and Michelangelo.

(30) Leon Battista Alberti (February 14, 1404 – April 25, 1472)

He was an Italian author, painter, sculptor, architect, city planner, poet, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer, excellent athlete, mathematician, a practicing musician, and general Renaissance humanist polymath: An artist who approached the ideal of being a Universal (Renaissance) Man.

· he wrote influential treatises on painting, sculpture, and architecture which provided the foundation of the Renaissance theory of art.

· Alberti believed all persons can do all things if they have the will to do so. He was the prototype for his high Renaissance successors, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. When people began calling Michelangelo “the divine,” the cycle was complete. (8, 261-5)

· Alberti perceived the architect as a person with great social responsibilities.

(31) Alberti: Façade, Santa Maria Novella in Mantua

· He also took great interest in studying the ruins of classical architecture in Rome and elsewhere.

· The need to integrate the design of the plan with the façade was introduced as an issue in the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, but he was never able to carry this aspect of his work into fruition.

· There were some Gothic style churches in Italy coming into the Renaissance. This Italian Gothic-style church of the Dominicans in Florence was completed in 1350, except for the facade, which was completed by Leon Battista Alberti in proto-Renaissance style (1456–70).

· For the first time, Alberti linked the lower roofs of the aisles to nave using two large scrolls. These were to become a standard Renaissance device for solving the problem of different roof heights and bridge the space between horizontal and vertical surfaces.

(32) Church architecture terms:

Def. Basilica: (a) A public building of ancient Rome having a central nave with an apse at one or both ends and two side aisles formed by rows of columns, which was used as a courtroom or assembly hall. After a plan of fourth-century St. Peter's, Rome (see picture):

· apse (Architecture. A usually semicircular or polygonal, often vaulted recess, especially the termination of the sanctuary end of a church. )

· transept (The transverse part of a cruciform church, crossing the nave at right angles. Either of the two lateral arms of such a part.)

· C. nave (The central part of a church, extending from the narthex to the chancel and flanked by aisles.)
D. aisles
E. narthex (A portico or lobby of an early Christian or Byzantine church or basilica, originally separated from the nave by a railing or screen -or-

· An entrance hall leading to the nave of a church.

· F. Atrium (The forecourt of a building, enclosed on three or four sides with porticoes.)

· Portico: A porch or walkway with a roof supported by columns, often leading to the entrance of a building

(33) (click) Alberti: Sant'Andrea - Mantua

The first building to demonstrate this type of façade was St. Andrea in Mantua by Alberti.

· The church was begun in 1462 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery. The building, however, was finished only 328 years later. Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti’s design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works.

· In the interior Alberti has dispensed with the traditional nave and aisles. Instead there is a slow and majestic progression of alternating tall arches & low square doorways, repeating the "triumphal arch" motif of façade.

(34) Palazzo Medici-Riccardi – architect: Michelozzo di Bartolomeo

The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi for the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy.

· The palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de' Medici, of the Medici family, and was built between 1445[2] and 1460.

· The building reflects the accumulated wealth of the Medici family, yet it is somewhat reserved. [But on the inside – very ornate – lots of art works.]

(35) High Renaissance: Donato Bramante (1444 – March 11, 1514)

was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. Peter's Basilica.

(36) Bramante : Santa Maria delle Grazie (1492-99);

· In Milan, Bramante also built the apse of the Santa Maria delle Grazie (1492-99);

· ("Holy Mary of Grace") is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, northern Italy.

· The church is also famous for the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent.

(37) Bramante: San Pietro: Site of Bramante’s Tempietto

· Ninth-century church dedicated to St. Peter: site of “small temple” in courtyard

(38) Bramante: Tempietto

. . is a small commemorative martyrium built by Donato Bramante, possibly as early as 1502, in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio. [martyrium: A church or other edifice built at a site, especially a tomb, associated with a Christian martyr or saint.] . . . it marks a traditional location of St. Peter's crucifixion.

· It is almost a piece of sculpture, for it has little architectonic use. . . .

(39) Old St. Peter’s Basilica – Rome; fourth century church: torn down my Pope Julius II, 1506

(40) Aerial views – St. Peter’s

St Peter's was "the greatest creation of the Renaissance", and many architects contributed their skills to it.

· We will look closer at St. Peter’s during lectures on the Baroque Age

· Bramante: architect until his death in 1514;

o Pope Julius II died in 1513

· Michelangelo appointed architect in 1546: he modified Bramante’s plans for structural reasons; He is credited with the design for the Massive Dome and basic structures of Basilica itself

(41) Michelangelo Buonarroti: Capitoline Hill - Rome

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), was one of the creative giants whose achievements mark the High Renaissance. He excelled in each of the fields of painting, sculpture and architecture and his achievements brought about significant changes in each area. His architectural fame lies chiefly in two buildings:- the interiors of the Laurentian Library and its lobby at the monastery of San Lorenzo in Florence, and his work on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.

· The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the most famous and highest of the seven hills of Rome.

o Buildings Capitoline Museums, palaces, churches

· The existing design of the (Capitoline Hill) and the surrounding palazzos (palaces) was created by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 - 1546. At the height of his fame he was commissioned by Pope Paul III, who wanted a symbol of the new Rome to impress Charles V, who was expected in 1538.

o Executing the design was slow work: little was actually completed in Michelangelo's lifetime, but work continued faithfully to his and was completed in the 17th century, except for the paving design, which was to be finished three centuries later.

· A balustrade punctuated by sculptures atop the giant pilasters capped the composition, one of the most influential of Michelangelo's designs. The two massive ancient statues of Castor and Pollux which decorate the balustrades are not the same posed by Michelangelo, which now [somewhere else].

· [The square] It is reached by the grand flight of steps known as the "Cordonata", built to a design by Michelangelo especially for the triumphal entry of the Emperor Charles V in 1536.

o Michelangelo placed on a new pedestal the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), removed in 1981 for some delicate restoration and situated on the ground floor of the Museo Capitolino.

· The bird's-eye view - shows Michelangelo's solution to the problems of the space in the Piazza del Campidoglio. . . . The three remodelled palazzi (palaces) enclose a harmonious trapezoidal space, approached by the ramped staircase (cordonata). Since no "perfect" forms would work, his apparent oval in the paving is actually egg-shaped, narrower at one end than at the other.

· The travertine design . . . An interlaced twelve-pointed star makes a subtle reference to the constellations, revolving around this space called Caput mundi, the "head of the world." This paving design was never executed by the popes, who may have detected a subtext of less-than-Christian message. Benito Mussolini ordered the paving completed to Michelangelo's design — in 1940.

(42) Legacy of Renaissance Architecture

· During the 19th century there was a conscious revival of Renaissance style architecture, that paralleled the Gothic Revival.

· Whereas the Gothic style was perceived by architectural theorists[34] as being the most appropriate style for Church building,

· the Renaissance palazzo was a good model for urban secular buildings requiring an appearance of dignity and reliability such as banks, gentlemen's clubs and apartment blocks.

· Buildings that sought to impress, such as the Paris Opera, were often of a more Mannerist or Baroque style.[36] Architects of factories, office blocks and department stores continued to use the Renaissance palazzo form into the 20th century.

· Many ideas in Renaissance architecture can be traced through subsequent architectural movements—from Renaissance to High-Renaissance, to Mannerism, to Baroque (or Rococo), to Neo-Classicism, to Eclecticism, to Modernism, and to Postmodernism. The influence of Renaissance architecture can still be seen in many of the modern styles and rules of architecture today.

(43) U.S. Capitol – example of influence

End of presentation