In class today, we began discussion of the Early Italian Renaissance. We started with talking about the “studia humanitatis”, which refers to the study of the humanities or human-made works. This study had a particular focus on works from Classical antiquity. This idea of humanism is seen extensively throughout this time period, from the art they created to how their governments were organized. Florence was a republic to reaffirm the idea that they were the heirs of the Roman Republic. Florence was a particularly interesting city because it was not controlled by a monarch or aristocracy but by powerful bankers and merchants. The guilds also played a powerful role in the political, social, and artistic life of the city.
The wool merchant’s guilds held a competition for who would create the bronze doors for the Baptistery of Saint John. Filippo Brunelleschi entered this competition but ultimately ended up losing. This led him to abandon sculpting and began studying architecture. Brunelleschi traveled to Rome to study ancient buildings. He was heavily inspired by the Pantheon, which is an extremely rational and perfectly portioned building. He took everything he learned in Rome to create the dome for the Cathedral of Florance. It has a double shell, with an inner dome for support and an outer dome as an attractive covering. The conception of this dome is entirely based on numerical relationships. Just like the Pantheon, this building is extremely rational and well-balanced.