Architectural Research "The City of Florence: Rooted in Humanism"

The City of Florence: Rooted in Humanism

Alexander Gault Architectural History II March 17, 2011

Gault 1 The Humanist movement was a revolutionary advance to civilization. It was a new way of experiencing life, an ideal change from the previous Middle Ages. The new philosophy eventually created the physical landscape of Florence that we know today. The Humanistic enthusiasm for learning taught individual expression, selfconsciousness, and pursuit of knowledge. All these values were directly expressed in the architecture of southern Italy. Florence is one city where the movement first emerged and Man began to better the built environment because of it. The city is full of building, monument and painting that reflect the philosophy of Humanism.

The tenets of Humanism are that humans are unique individuals with the power and ability to accomplish great things. People finally believe that humans shape their own destiny- rather than God. The movement was clearly modern, which appealed to many citizens. It was a chance for people to live for themselves without the constant pressure of the Church. After the past disasters of famine, plague and war, people had grown tired of the lives the Church thought they should live. It was decided that the Church should not rule civic matters, but guide only spiritually. The separation lead to an entire new cityscape. The study of virtue and humanities influenced architects’ creative processes that lead to new buildings forms in Florence.

As Humanism expanded, more people began seeing the honor and beauty in being a human and began thriving. They tried to have virtue by achieving more accomplishments than before. Things such as education and art were widely acknowledged by society, a modern idea from the previous Middle Ages. The idea of a “well rounded” schooling in many different fields of learning had emerged. There

Gault 2 was a general improvement of the masses that called for a physical environment which embodied the way they lived. The Hospital of the Innocents was an example of early Italian Renaissance architecture that resulted from Humanism. The commission, given to Fillippo Brunelleschi in 1419, marked a notable shift in values for the Florentine citizens.1 The children’s orphanage displayed the importance citizens placed on morality. Civic humanism placed a great emphasis on Man to actively engage in the needs of his world. Children sickness was a harsh reality of the city and the citizens of Florence took a proactive approach to fix the problem.

This ideology that exalted civic virtues and participation in public affairs was also displayed in the Florence Cathedral. This major building project was commissioned, not by the church, but by guilds representing the wealth and power of Florence. By 1418, Arnolfo di Cambio’s design had been built and only the dome remained incomplete2. The ‘Arte della Lana’ held a design competition for the citizens of Florence to find a solution for the impossible task of doming the structure. The new efficient and ordered members of society were surely capable of such a task.

Educated Florentines submitted a variety of ideas and sketches. Brunelleschi’s dome, 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.3 The Florentine citizenry was clearly engaged in Humanistic thinking and were excelling those gifts that God gave Man. The Cathedral was a product of human Baron, Hans. In Search of Florentine Civic Humanism: Essays on the Transition from Medieval to Modern Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1988. Print.

2 King, Ross. Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. New York: Walker &, 2000. Print.

3 King, Ross. Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. New York: Walker &, 2000. Print.

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Gault 3 needs, hopes and effort. It was important to the city because it proved Man could solve the most challenging of problems.

Another element of Humanism, aside from good virtue, reflected in the physical landscape of Florence was the study antiquity. Humanists placed great emphasis on learning from the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. The revival of classical antiquity can best be seen in the Palazzo Rucellai. The townhouse in Florence was designed by the Humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti. There are three stories of the faรงade, all with different classical orders. This is a clear homage to the Colleseum in Rome with Doric capitals on the ground floor, Ionic capitals on the second level and Corinthian capitals on the upper floor.4 The stone rustication serves as the background for the smooth faced pilasters and entablatures which divide the faรงade into three bays. The grid-like faรงade makes a statement of rational humanist clarity.5 Architects were finally noticing how their design impacts the environment around it.

The Palazzo Medici Riccardi was also influenced from classical Roman principles and incorporates stone rustication. The palace, designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, has a tripartite elevation that expresses the Humanism spirit of rationality, order, and classicism on human scale.6 The transition from rusticated masonry on the ground floor to the delicately refined stonework of the upper floor makes the building seem lighter and taller. The building inspired from Roman practice was made to look distinctly Florentine. Often the ancient orders were Tavernor, Robert. On Alberti and the Art of Building. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998. Print.

Tavernor, Robert. On Alberti and the Art of Building. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998. Print.

6 Smith, Christine. Architecture in the Culture of Early Humanism: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Eloquence, 1400-1470. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.

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Gault 4 analyzed and reconstructed to serve new purposes. This was the case for the Pazzi Chapel in Florence. The freestanding centrally planned dome building by Brunelleshi was clearly inspired from the ancient Temple of Minerva Medici.7 The goals of Humanism were to recover literary treasures and monuments of ancient Greece and Rome. This lead to a new way of interpreting findings based on the world around us instead of worrying about whether these discoveries contradicted the Bible. Brunelleschi’s study of the Roman picnic pavilion inspired his chapel in Florence.

An aspect of the enlightenment is appreciating the world around oneself.

After the Middle Ages people started to understand how the built environment affected them. The push for higher education required architects and artists to create logical solutions through design. They began to master the techniques of perspective, light and space. Space, as an element of architecture, was utilized differently from the way it had been in the Middle Ages. Space was organized by proportional logic; its form and rhythm subject to geometry, rather than being created by intuition as in Medieval buildings8. The prime example of this in Florence is Brunelleschi’s Basilica di San Lorenzo. The awareness of proportion in this design is a modern idea. Brunelleschi attempted to create a relationship between the nave and aisle of the church. An integrated system of columns, arches and entablatures shows how buildings were beginning to be seen in their total form. The proportions for the height of the columns were set to relate to Man. The spherical segments in Walker, Paul Robert. The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.

8 Baron, Hans. In Search of Florentine Civic Humanism: Essays on the Transition from Medieval to Modern Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1988. Print.

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Gault 5 the vaults of the side aisles mimic the symmetry found in the human form.9 Brunelleschi also designed Santo Spirito, a modern building of its era that reflected his physical education. The interior space expresses a new sense of light and clarity.

This Florentine architecture reflects the philosophy of Humanism in that the enlightenment and clarity of mind calls for open, bright spaces as opposed to the darkness and spirituality of the Middle Ages.10 The idea that people want to be ordered is also present in the Romanesque Baptistery of Florence. Architects preferred forms that were clearly defined and structural members that expressed their purpose. It was easy for architects to keep order in design because of two modern functions. First, the ratios were simple and keyed to a fixed module of so many braccia, the Italian unit of measurement; and, second, the building parts were standardized and could be assembled in a rational, predictable way, much as they were, say, in Greek temples.11 The interior of the Baptistery incorporated these forms as well as perspective, a skill aided by mathematical humanism.

There was an incredible amount of knowledge and insight gained from Humanism. It sparked an educational movement for the masses. The large amount of books and documents collected lead to the creation of the Laurentian Library, a Florentine masterpiece by Michelangelo. The purpose of this building to house educational documents strongly reflects the ideals of Humanism. The interior

Prager, Frank D., and Gustina Scaglia. Brunelleschi: Studies of His Technology and Inventions.

Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004. Print.

10 Prager, Frank D., and Gustina Scaglia. Brunelleschi: Studies of His Technology and Inventions.

Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004. Print.

11 Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

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Gault 6 structure has also been said to imitate the human body, a popular form of the time.

The recessed columns into the wall give off the notion of a fragile yet structured support system.12 The transformation of Florence goes beyond the infrastructure of the city.

Painters also strove to achieve greater realism in their works. Faces became more lifelike, bodies were painted in more realistic postures, and figures began to express real emotion.13 The study of perspective was also included to create realistic depth once Brunelleschi and Alberti formalized the technique. Even the subject matter was framed in modernity. Artists introduced narratives and characters from classical mythology, such as Venus and Mars, to illustrate their humanistic beliefs.14 Sculptors took inspiration directly from classical Greek and Roman sculpture. Figures were now filled with energy and thought, a notable change from the lifeless medieval busts.

Humanism continued to be popular because of the wealthy families that allowed artistic experimentation to occur. It was generally understood by Humanists that people who had the benefit of wealth and education ought to promote the pursuit of learning and the creation of that which was beautiful. The Medici’s of Florence gathered around people of learning and talent, promoting the skills and creating employment for the most talented artists and architects of their

Godman, Peter. From Poliziano to Machiavelli: Florentine Humanism in the High Renaissance.

Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1998. Print.

13 Crum, Roger J., and John T. Paoletti. Renaissance Florence: a Social History. New York: Cambridge UP, 2006. Print.

14 Crum, Roger J., and John T. Paoletti. Renaissance Florence: a Social History. New York: Cambridge UP, 2006. Print.

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Gault 7 day.15 In 15th century Florence, a new generation of artists grew up who either were themselves interested in the humanist agenda, or else found that their patrons were humanistic. They kept incorporating these values in their design and by the end of the 15th century, the movement in Florence was so deeply rooted and widespread that northerners began to take note.16 The Renaissance as a package- art and humanism-paved the way for the modern, secular world. As it moved north of the Alps, the ideas took on varied forms. States found ways to celebrate their cultural past, just as Florence had with Rome. The physical landscape of France, Germany, Holland and England were all affected by the Florentine Humanist movement.

The city of Florence would have never prospered without the belief that activity takes precedence over contemplation. Leon Battista Alberti raised the question whether human failure or success depends on fortune or on human character. His answer is undeniable: “fortune triumphs only over those who submit to it.�17 People finally understood that individual greatness is part of cultural greatness. The modern education of liberal arts gave people the skills and knowledge necessary for a human being to be truly free. People sought to learn from antiquity by looking upon it not as a golden age never again to be realized, but as an exemplary parallel to the present.18 Modern Florentines would achieve personal greatness by having in mind the greatness of the city of which they are a part. This philosophy transformed the physical landscape of Florence into an ideal city never Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

17 Garin, Eugenio. Italian Humanism: Philosophy and Civic Life in the Renaissance. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1975. Print.

18 Garin, Eugenio. Italian Humanism: Philosophy and Civic Life in the Renaissance. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1975. Print.

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Gault 8 before imagined.

Gault 9 Bibliography Baron, Hans. In Search of Florentine Civic Humanism: Essays on the Transition from Medieval to Modern Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1988. Print.

Crum, Roger J., and John T. Paoletti. Renaissance Florence: a Social History. New York: Cambridge UP, 2006. Print.

Garin, Eugenio. Italian Humanism: Philosophy and Civic Life in the Renaissance.

Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1975. Print.

Godman, Peter. From Poliziano to Machiavelli: Florentine Humanism in the High Renaissance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1998. Print.

King, Ross. Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture.

New York: Walker &, 2000. Print.

Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

Prager, Frank D., and Gustina Scaglia. Brunelleschi: Studies of His Technology and Inventions. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004. Print.

Smith, Christine. Architecture in the Culture of Early Humanism: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Eloquence, 1400-1470. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.

Tavernor, Robert. On Alberti and the Art of Building. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998.

Print.

Walker, Paul Robert. The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.