UTSOA

This advanced Seminar will focus on a comparative analysis between the architectural practices of the Gothic cathedral builders of the "Classical" period and the methods employed by Brunelleschi to build the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Numerus clausus: 10 students

The Problem:

Since the end of the Fifteenth Century, Brunelleschi has been characterized as the originator of the Renaissance style in architecture, and was believed to have traveled to Rome to study its classical monuments. This un-corroborated and highly ideological notion is strongly refuted by recent scholarship that shows conclusively that most of Brunelleschi's models for his stylistic "innovations," reputed to be of Roman extraction, could easily be found in the Medieval Florence repertoire. It is equally true that Brunelleschi's dome at Santa Maria del Fiore does not follow, as one would expect, any known Roman scheme but rather appears to be a derivation of Gothic octagonal vaulting systems that give the cupola its often cited "Gothic" profile.

Due to Renaissance "reappraisals," Gothic Cathedral builders have long been regarded as "anonymous" masons with no specific professional claims. However, a growing body of scholarship reveals that they were knowledgeable and sophisticated architects and engineers whose personal fame reached every corner of Medieval Europe. Unlike in Italy, where architecture as a profession was unknown until the mid Cinquecento, the Gothic architects operated architectural firms very similar to those of the present day, since the early Thirteenth Century.

Therefore, Brunelleschi's decision to find the long awaited solution for the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore may well have prompted this trained jeweler to seek professional expertise from the technically superior engineers that operated on the transalpine Gothic sites. Such attempt is not without precedent. In Brunelleschi's time, the best known example of such a collaboration can be found in the laborious and well documented consulting services the Gothic architect Jean de Mignot offered the builders of the Milan Cathedral, which, incidentally, like a number of earlier Gothic Cathedrals, has a crossing topped by an octagonal dome.

The ambition of this Seminar is to suggest some initial answers to Brunelleschi's staggering and so far unexplained technical expertise and virtuosity, and therefor question whether Brunelleschi's importance lies in his arguable role as the initiator of a style, as accepted by historical tradition, or if he should be regarded, rather, as one of the last and perhaps greatest engineers of Medieval Europe. To this end, the Seminar will engage in a comparative analysis of Brunelleschi's architectural practices, design methods, spatial concepts, site organization and technology with those of relevant Gothic Masters.

The Method:

After a series of lectures and discussions in the first part of the Semester, individual students will present their own research on the subject.

Requirements: a Presentation, Class attendance, participation in discussions and a scholarly research paper due at the end of the Semester.