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a rc h 2 4 2 : bui l ding h is to ry II
Renai ssa n c e & b a r oq u e : R is e & e vol ut io n o f t he ar c hi t ec t
midte rm exa m - E S S AY Q U E S T IO N S
1- Compar e Giuliano da Sangallo’s S . Maria delle Car ceri at Prato (1485) to Bramante’s Tempietto
at San Pietr o in Mon torio, Rome (1502). How do their plans dif f er and how does this af f ect the
spaces for each? How do these tw o chur ches exemplify the thematics of each ar chitect? (35 points)
Example 1:
Both S. Maria delle Carceri and the Tempietto are symmetrical and have a centrally plan theme, which cor re sponds perfectly to the humanist movement and High Renaissance architecture. But despite these similarities
in design, their plans differ in the way each responds to space, which emphasizes the thematic of each archi tect.
Santa Maria delle Carceri is arguably the g reatest example of a centrally planned church. W hen Sang allo de signed this in 1485, he was clearly motivated by the humanist movement. T he way the four cor ner s are pushed
inwards gives emphasis to the middle, or the man. He designed the dome not to ref lect to God but to ref lect
back on man. In contrast, Bramante’s Tempietto places the temple in the middle, but is sur rounded by walls
and buildings. T his way the temple responds not only to the middle, but also the outer walls.
Sang allo’s S. Maria delle Carceri is a g reat reason why he is known as the Renaissance Architect. He por trays
perfect propor tions through symmetr y and fo cuses on man. Bramante on the other hand, plays on the idea of
the par t to the whole. His Tempietto is the p ar t that responds to the outter walls, which summed up act as the
whole. T hrough this, emphasis g ets taken off of the middle and g ets placed toward the outer edg es.
Garcia Fritz _ ARCH 242: Building History II _ Fall 2013 _ DoArch _ South Dakota State University
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a rc h 2 4 2 : bui l ding h is to ry II
Renai ssa n c e & b a r oq u e : R is e & e vol ut io n o f t he ar c hi t ec t
2- The ar chitects w e ha ve discussed thus far had dif f er ent r elationships with the city of Rome. W hat was each ar chitect’s r e lationship with Rome and how was this r elationship r eflected in their ar chitectur e? Be specific and use examples. (35 points)
Example 1:
T hroughout the Renaissance, Rome has played a role in each of the architects we have studied. We have seen
that Rome has help ed push forward their thematics or has given them a site for their actual buildings, which
both can be seen through their architectural work.
Star ting with Br unelleschi, he travelled to the Roman r uins and rediscovered linear perspective thr ough various
experiments. We can see this through both San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito, which both play on an elong ated vs.
a shor tened linear perspective. Following Br unelleschi, Alber ti travels to Rome and also studies the r uins, not ing on the propor tions of the temples. Also while in Rome, Alber ti writes his Treatises on Architecture. A
g reat example of his study of propor tion in Rome is his San Sabastiano in 1460. T his church has both g reat
propor tion and has both x and y symmetr y. Also Alber ti takes the idea of the Roman arch and begins to use
it collag ed with the Greek temple front. We can see this clearly in Sant’ Andrea, the culmination of his work.
Sang allo also travels to Rome to study the r ui ns there. He picks up on the propor tion and even fur thers the
idea of symmetr y as seen in S. Maria delle Carceri. W hat makes him different from his predecessors is that his
career ends in Rome with designing plans for St. Peter in 1506.
Bramante was called to Rome by Pope Julius II in order to help rebuild Rome. As a result, Bamante had sev eral jobs there that included designing Santa Maria della Pace in 1500 and also the Tempietto at San Pietro in
Monterio in 1502. And also, like Sang allo, he designed plans for St. Peter in 1506 ending his career. Like Bra mante, Michelang elo begins his work in Rome for the Pope as a painter. He painted the Sistine Chapel and the
Last Judgment, which beg an the tur n towards Mannerism. He then takes those Manneristic ideas and begins to
place them in his architecture. We can see this in the Medici Chapel (1570) with a blown up, out of propor tion
scale and also in th e Laurentian Librar y with the excess stairs and our of context columns. T hen g oing back to
Rome from Florence he begins his work on urbanism, designing Palazzo Far nese and Piazza del Campidaglio.
Finally like his predecessors, his career ends with the designing of St. Peter in 1546.
As we can see, each architect was impacted by Rome, either through their study or beginning their career. Ei ther way, each different case was seen through their architecture that brought for th the Renaissance and paved
the way to the Baroque period.
Garcia Fritz _ ARCH 242: Building History II _ Fall 2013 _ DoArch _ South Dakota State University
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a rc h 2 4 2 : bui l ding h is to ry II
Renai ssa n c e & b a r oq u e : R is e & e vol ut io n o f t he ar c hi t ec t
Example 2:
During the Renaissance, the profession of the architecture star ted to evolve. Within this, many different styles
were created and variance with how architects worked within cer tain principles became distinct. However, all
of these architects had one thing in common, Rome. Rome boasted an abundance of ancient Roman principle
that were rediscover ed and rejuvenated during the Renaissance. T his made Rome the e picenter of Architectural
study. Br unelleschi, Alber ti, Sang allo, Bramante and Michelang elo all had distinct ties to Rome and from that,
their architecture was defined.
Br unelleschi, often listed as the first architect, studied r uins in Rome for thir teen years. T here he worked
towards rejuvenating the Vitr uvian principles and rediscovered the impact perspective can have when designing
str uctures. T his is por trayed in his work at San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. T here he successfully exemplified
his idea of elong ated perspective, which he lear ned through his studies in Rome.
Alber ti, also having studied in Rome, pushed for th the Vitr uvian laws fur ther than Br unelleshi. He wrote three
Treatises, making it clear cut the laws of Ancient Roman Architecture. An example of his work and it’s rela tionship to his studies is Palazzo Rucellai. T here, he made it evident how the façade worked, displaying the
trabeated system and making it evident to the viewer. T he idea of transparency and the striping away from the
unneeded was that found in Ancient Rome.
Sang allo’s relationship with Rome is similar to that of Br unelleschi and Alber ti. He was mentored there and
much of his architecture heavily relies on the Vitr uvian principles. An example of this is a S. Maria Delle
Carceri in Prato where he utilized the centralized church plan. He derived this plan fro the g eometrical perfec tion of the Vitr uvian laws.
Bramante’s relationship to Rome was different from the other architects. Most of his education did not occur
there, however he was commissioned to do work in Rome. He completed the Tempietto at San Pietro using the
Vitr uvian laws and emphasizing the par t to whole relationship. He utilized the classical orders found in r uins
around him to create the colonnade.
Michelang elo star ted his career in Rome as a painter in the Saint Peter’s Basilica workshop. T here he evolved
into one of the most prolific ar tists of all time. His work as a painter allowed him to become com missioned as
an architect. His rendition of Saint Peter’s is still the most evident today compared to any other architect.
T he inf luence Rome has had on architects throughout time is clearly evident. During the Renaissance, the
evolution of architects occur red. Principles were set for th and architects evolved within them. A lthough hav ing differing styles, Br unelleschi, Alber ti, Sang allo, Bramante, and Michelang elo all had one thing in common:
Rome.
Garcia Fritz _ ARCH 242: Building History II _ Fall 2013 _ DoArch _ South Dakota State University
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