Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

This is another great read from Mr. King. A week or two ago I finished his wonderful "Michelangelo And The Pope's Ceiling" and at that point decided I'd have to read "Brunelleschi's Dome". Over the past year or so I'd seen "Brunelleschi's Dome" in various bookstores and I'd skimmed through the pages- never buying it because I thought it looked too technical. I was put off by the various technical illustrations and thought, "Oh, this is really a book for an architect or engineer". But I was wrong. While there is no denying that the technical aspects are a major part of the book, the illustrations are very useful in helping the lay reader to understand the ingenious solutions that Brunelleschi came up with to overcome the numerous technical difficulties involved in the construction of such a large dome. By going into the nitty-gritty of the construction process, Mr. King allows us to appreciate Filippo's accomplishment. After all, this was a man who was a goldsmith and clockmaker- not an architect! And even though the book is under 200 pages in length, Mr. King manages to include a lot of interesting information other than the material which concerns the construction process. We learn about the lives of the masons who worked on the dome- how many days they worked (only about 200 per year, actually. They had off Sundays and religious feast days, which came about once a week. They also couldn't work in bad weather); what they ate and drank (surprisingly, although they were a couple of hundred feet above the ground they drank wine! Considering water quality at the time, wine was considered healthier. Florentines also believed that it "improved the blood, hastened digestion, calmed the intellect, enlivened the spirit, and expelled wind". Mr. King adds that wine "might also have given a fillip of courage to men clinging to an inward-curving vault..."!). Fillipo was very safety-conscious. Because of his precautions, only one man died during the 26 years Brunelleschi was in charge of the project. A good thing.....these were the days before workers' compensation and survivors' benefits! Another interesting theme of the book is the rivalry between Filippo and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Years earlier, Ghiberti had bested Brunelleschi in the contest to see who would be awarded the commission to cast and put up the bronze doors for the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Ghiberti won that competition. This time around Brunelleschi came up with the winning design. However, Ghiberti was still involved in "The Dome" project and there was no love lost between the two men. There was a lot of nasty backbiting behind the scenes of the "this guy doesn't know what the heck he's doing!" variety. Despite the fact that Ghiberti's baptistery doors are considered to be an artistic masterpiece (and were recognized as such even back then- even the persnickety Michelangelo marveled at the workmanship) the following anecdote will give you some idea of the ill-will between the two men: Lorenzo, who was generally an astute businessman and was always on the lookout for good places to put his money, had bought a farm in the hills above Florence. Mr. King writes, "As the farm, called Lepriano, did not prove a successful investment, Lorenzo was forced to sell it. Years later Filippo was asked what he thought was the best piece of work Lorenzo had ever done, to which he replied- "Selling Lepriano". If we add "comedian" to his long list of accomplishments, we see that Filippo Brunelleschi was indeed a true "Renaissance Man"!

It took me several months to really get into this book. Usually I know right away whether a book will grip my imagination and draw me in. "Brunelleschi's Dome" did, however, turn out to be one of the true literary surprises of the year for me. I wrote a term paper about Brunelleschi and the Florence Cathedral waaay back in high school for a technical drafting class. It was that experience, many years ago, that led me to buy the book. Now an architect in private practice, I have the technical and artistic background to appreciate what then was bewildering and rather foreign to me. This book very slowly grew on me, until one evening I couldn't put it down. Once the initial history, setup and definitions were safely read and out of the way, this book really got interesting in a hurry. The portrayal of the unintentional designer who, 500 years later, has come to be one of the recognized geniuses of the Renaissance and a founding father of Western architectural thought is fascinating, surprising and at times downright strange. Brunelleschi's time half a millenium ago is brought to life vividly. The technical descriptions of what are still today considered amazing breakthroughs are well written, informative and enlightening without being unwieldy, self indulgent or too long. This alone is a skill many architectural writers are abysmally deficient in, preferring to fill pages with their own blather and pseudo-language ostensibly designed to make the "rest of us" hold them in awe. Ross King's departure from the language of architecture's current flirtation with trendy academia is refreshing, readable and understandable by those not in the professions of architecture, engineering or building. It is revealing that my 14 year old cousin, a young man with sharp interests in astronomy and rock music, enjoyed this book immensely.

Ross King’s Brunelleschi’s Dome is a captivating look at the Renaissance. King brings the early 1400s to life, showing how Florence grew into a powerful and wealthy city. The author's greatest strength is his focus on the human side of history. The book paints a vivid and complex picture of Filippo Brunelleschi. King describes him as an eccentric and secretive man who worked alone, constantly terrified that rivals would steal his ideas. Like many great artists of his time, he cared very little about his physical appearance or clothing. However, his mind was extraordinary. The book highlights his brilliant intellect, noting that people eventually called his talent a "divine genius". King also beautifully connects Brunelleschi’s art with his engineering. The author details Brunelleschi's invention of linear perspective, an optical trick that changed painting forever. This deep understanding of space and mathematics allowed him to invent revolutionary machines, such as his famous hoist, to lift incredibly heavy stones into the sky. Ross King turns a story about a building into a fascinating study of human brilliance.

Había leido otro libro de este mismo autor y me había gustado mucho. El libro, a pesar de ser de segunda mano, está en perfectas condiiciones.

Excellent read combination of history, engineering and entertainment.

On croit que c'est un bon complément à la visite du chef-d'oeuvre architectural de Florence, mais ce n'est pas le cas : c'est poussif, inintéressant, long et on n'en retire rien.

Boeiende beschrijving van de uitdagingen bij de bouw van de kathedraal, met verwijzingen naar de maatschappelijke context (ziekte, organisatie van het sociaal leven, oorlogen etc.). Een echte aanrader voor kunstliefhebbers. Zeker als je Florence wil bezoeken8

Quality book about an amazing building. Inspiring story.