Filippo Brunelleschi

The Medieval world into which Filippo Brunelleschi was born held the sacred belief that only God viewed the world and only the Church could tell man what it was God saw. In the early years of the Quattrocento, as the Humanist movement grew out of the rediscovered wisdom of Rome and Greece, this view was challenged; Man was not just along for the ride, but was meant to take a vital and active role in the world around him. Brunelleschi embraced this new avenue of thought and applied it to practical matters like no other of his time.

Beginnings
Born in 1377, the son of the respected Notary Ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi, Brunelleschi was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. But as the young Brunelleschi took to his studies, his father saw in him an innate talent for art . Brunelleschi's biographer, Antonio di Tuccio Manetti wrote; 'From childhood he had a natural interest in drawing and painting and his work was charming. For that reason he elected to become a goldsmith when his father, as was the custom, apprenticed him to a trade. Noting his aptitude, his father, who was a wise man, gave his consent.' Ser Brunellesco must indeed had been a man of wisdom for Brunelleschi no doubt demonstrated his headstrong nature early in life, and his father realized that his son would only rebel if forced into the family business.

Early Years
Believed to have apprenticed under the goldsmith Benincasa Lotti, Brunelleschi's name first appears in a contract dated December 31, 1399 to render figures for the altar of Saint James in the cathedral of Saint Zeno in Pistoia. Of the four pieces sculpted by Brunelleschi in his first commission, it is the full length statue of Saint Augustine that would indicate his unique view of the melding of the spiritual and physical work. Brunelleschi's Saint Augustine stands holding a book in his left hand and a pen grasped in the fingertips of his right. The saint is bent backward from the waist, his head turned unnaturally to the sky. The statement is plain; Here is a man who listens to the word of God and conveys it to mankind. In counterpoint to the unnatural and almost painful pose, Brunelleschi's statue is carefully detailed with naturalism right down to the network of veins on the saint's hands.

As evidence to his good family name and his status as a loyal Parte Guelph member, Brunelleschi's work on the commission was interrupted twice when he was called by to Florence to serve a term on the Consiglio del Popolo and later the Consiglio del Commune, two representative bodies who voted on the laws proposed by the Signoria. Though not well known as a Humanist, Brunelleschi took his civic responsibilities seriously.

Donatello
It was while finishing his contract in Pistoia in early 1401 after his political terms concluded that Brunelleschi met the impassioned young artist who would become his apprentice. The fourteen year old Donati di Niccolò di Betto Bardi - Donatello - had been arrested in Pistoia for striking a German youth with a stick and drawing blood. It is possible that Donatello's father, Niccolò di Betto Bardi may have introduced the two - the elder Bardi also being a Parte Guelph member - in an effort to steer his son away from being a street fighter. Whatever the method of their meeting, the two struck up a friendship that would last a lifetime. It is believed that the young Donatello assisted Brunelleschi in rendering the figures of the Pistoian cathedral.

The Baptistery Doors
It was an ironic twist that the three men who would lead the artistic revolution of the Renascimento, were all working outside of Florence when the Calimala - the wealthy Merchant's Guild - announced the competition to create new doors for the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Since the 12th century, the Calimala had led the way in guild patronage and public art by taking the responsibility for the maintenance and decoration of the Baptistery.

In an act of thanksgiving for the passing of the Black Death spread by the Prosessioner dei Bianchi in 1399 and to elevate civic pride after the financial depression of the latter half of the previous century, the Calimala decided to commission the making of two new bronze doors for the Baptistery of Florence's patron saint and formed an Opera to judge the competition. The Baptistery of San Giovanni was the centerpiece of life in Florence at the time. On the evening before San Giovanni's feast day each year men walked through decorated streets to offer gifts of wax candles to the Baptistery. The Baptistery was also the venue for the swearing in of magistrates and crowning of poets, of blessing departing soldiers and triumphantly welcoming them back from war. It was the official church of the Republic.

To win the competition would be the opportunity of a lifetime for any artist, so it was no surprise that Brunelleschi leapt at the opportunity and brought his unique talents to the task at hand. Competitors for the commission were to sculpt a single sample door panel in wax and have it cast in bronze. The subject for the panels was Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac and they had one year to submit their entry.

In addition to Brunelleschi, other entrants were Simon da Colle, Niccolò d' Arezzo, Jacopo della Quercia, Francesco Valdambrino, and Niccolò Lamberti. But Brunelleschi's strongest competition was Lorenzo Ghiberti - a fellow Florentine and talented artist in his own right. In the Vita di Brunelleschi, Antonio Manetti records that Brunelleschi worked quickly 'as he had a powerful command of the art' and once his entry was finished would not speak of it to others. But Ghiberti learned of the beauty of Brunelleschi's panel, and so sought out the advice and counsel of the men who would be doing the actual judging. By ingratiating himself to the judges, Ghiberti - according to Manetti - also won their praises which were voiced openly prior to the competition's conclusion. But when the Opera saw Brunelleschi's panel, they recognized in him a unique talent that in some ways surpassed Ghiberti's but could not go back on the praise they had publicly made.

Manetti's Vita is naturally biased toward Brunelleschi, but his claim is strengthened by the fact that the Calimala commanded the Opera judges to issue their decision in writing, and that the entire Guild was required to ratify their choice. Manetti also claimed that the judges had offered the commission to both men, but it was Brunelleschi who refused to share the commission with Ghiberti. If he did not have complete control of the project then he wanted no part of it. A significant piece of evidence that backs up Manetti's claims is that the only two surviving panels still in existence are Brunelleschi's and Ghiberti's - the rest having been melted down for the metal. It must be remembered that at the time of the competition, both Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were young and fairly unknown artists - for the Calimala to preserve both panels is a testament to the favour they showed to each of the submissions.