Today we started our discussion of the Renaissance’s beginnings. I thought we were gonna start the day off by talking a bit more about printmaking but maybe we’ll circle back to it later.
We first examined some important historical background stuff for Florence, specifically how the guilds leveraged their economic dominance of the region to fund the arts. We then talked a bit about the competition the Wool Merchants’ Guild held to determine who would get the contract for The Gates of Paradise and examined both Brunelleschi and Ghiberti’s entries. We learned how to properly compare and contrast two works of art on the same subject. I finally had my glasses today so I was actually able to see the pieces in some detail for the first time. It was nice, they’re a lot prettier when you can see them.
We then examined Brunelleschi’s dome, which he won the contract for after losing out on The Gates of Paradise. It is certainly an amazing architectural feat. I’ve been lucky enough to see it in person, and the way it shoots up into the sky when you’re looking at it from the ground is insane. When you go inside to, you can see the sheer size of the ribs and the double-rimmed construction of the dome. His drafts and models are insane, but to turn his ideas into the physical behemoth that is the dome is nothing else than genius.
Towards the end of class today we talked about the hospital loggia that Brunelleschi also worked on that displayed his deftness with mathematical proportions that the Romans pioneered and he made popular again. Continuing on this theme, we used Donatello’s The Feast of Herod to discuss the prominence of linear perspective and how Renaissance artists began to achieve accurate depictions of depth.
I like what we’re learning at the moment. We’re seeing artists apply antiquated understandings of form and proportions to various mediums to achieve the naturalistic end of realistically depicting our world. It’s a beautiful example of how the intellectual climate of an area affects its cultural output.