Neri di Fioravanti and his group rejected the external supports proposed by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini, however, and offered a different approach to the structure of the dome. Flying buttresses were rare in Italy, where architects regarded them as ugly and awkward makeshifts. But Neri's reasons for rejecting them were probably political as much as aesthetic or structural, in that they smacked of the architecture of Florence's traditional enemies: Germany, France, and Milan. how the German barbarians, the Goths, had covered Europe with their clumsy and disproportionate edifices would later become a popular theme with writers of the Italian Renaissance.This paragraph stood out because it demonstrates how Ross King can relate this story in an engaging way. He goes out of his way to enlighten the reader as to the mindset and general feelings of the Florentines in during the Italian Renaissance.
King, Ross. Brunelleschi's Dome. New York: Walker & Company, 2000. Print.
I remember this being one of those books that I picked up and finished on the same day.
ReplyDeleteIt is still fascinating how architects from hundreds and hundreds of years ago can still captivate us in the same way that they did to their people. The dome, of all architectural designs, is probably one of the most important for that time, because no one had really ever designed something that could support its own weight like that before, and because it was very popular in churches and mosques.
ReplyDeleteWow this book looks like a very interesting read, as I am a big fan of architecture, especially Italian architecture. Continuing on what rg123 said, the dome very pretty as it is, is one of the most important architectural features of that time. The dome allows for a building to be very tall, and open without the use for supports or braces. When I was in Italy, I loved the beautiful architecture there, as there were huge open colored domes, that you could look at endlessly.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds riveting, I never would have thought politics would have played a role in architecture, however the connection is clearly there and seems so obvious to me now. Thanks for an enlightening analysis Lucas!
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how politics play a role in stuff today even. You have to get things approved then you have to make sure people will like it and then you have to get the funding for it. Politics play a massive role as it takes much money (some may have been borrowed from the government and therefore is directly related to politics.
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