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What was the Renaissance?

The intellectual transformation that happened during the Renaissance

has resulted with this period being viewed as a bridge between the
Middle Ages and the Modern era.

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• Renaissance began in
Florence, Italy in the early
fifteenth century,
encompassing Rome and
Milan, Netherlands, and
spread to the rest of Europe
and after 125yrs it reached
France.
• The Renaissance began to
spread after 1500s to
England, Germany, France,
Spain, Poland, and the
Netherlands.
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Introduction of Renaissance Architecture

• Renaissance means a revival or renewed interest in something.

• Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between
the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of
Europe.
• It demonstrated a conscious revival and development of certain
elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material
culture.
• Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and was
succeeded by Baroque architecture.
• Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as one of its
innovators.

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• The foremost Renaissance building types were
the church, palazzo (urban mansion), and villa (country mansion).
• Various great names are associated with Renaissance church and
palazzo design, the most famous villa architect by far is Palladio.
• In England, large residences were called Elizabethan country houses.
• In France they were called chateaus.

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Renaissance Chateau (France)
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Renaissance Chateau (France)
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Renaissance Chateau (France)
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Renaissance Building in Spain
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Renaissance Building in England
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Renaissance Building in Netherland
Baroque Architecture

• European architecture of the 17th century, referred to as Baroque

architecture.
• The Baroque movement is said to have taken the Roman elements
of Renaissance style and developed them to be more theatrical and
dramatic. The result is a highly ornate architectural style.

14
Differences Between the Renaissance and Baroque
Architectural Styles
Renaissance Architecture
• Lighter, more graceful forms with
symmetrical balance. Buildings were
neatly divided into a number of similar
sections that included the division of
different levels.
• Flat walls that represented a sort of
permanence and simplicity.
• Windows and columns on buildings show a
clear progression toward the center.
• Buildings often have rounded domes at
that top that encased the ceiling of part of
the building.
• Facade broken up by columns, pilasters,
and semi-circular arches.
• Buildings tend to be shaped more
squarely, with some curved
and rounded elements.
• Generally brick was the most commonly
used material in Renaissance buildings.
Baroque Architecture
• Heavy forms that were massive in
size. Buildings were much more
fragmented, with architects purposely
leaving some elements incomplete.
• Curved walls that gave a feeling of
constant movement.
• Central entrance is characterized by rich
architectural and ornamental elements.
• Sometimes areas of buildings would have
pear-shaped domes that were mostly
ornamental.
• Surface of buildings are a continuous
whole, with few columns, pilasters, and
arches.
• Buildings are more rectangular in style and
can be very massive in size.
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• Outside of buildings are highly ornate,
made from a variety of different materials.
Vitruvius’ Ten Books of Architecture

• In 1487 the ancient text of Vitruvius was one of the first books
printed. The impact of printing was tremendous.
• The architectural theorists of the revived antique style – Alberti,
Serlio, Francesco de Giorgio, Palladio, Vignola, Guilio Romano – all
wrote treatises that owed something to Vitruvius. These men were
no longer master masons, however brilliant, they were scholars.
• Architecture was no longer the continuation of a practical tradition,
handed on through mason’s lodges; it was a literary idea. The
architect was not just putting up a building; he was following a
theory.

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17
The Vitruvian Man

• Rather than using the complex,

geometric transformations of
medieval master masons,
Renaissance architects favoured
simple forms such as the square and
the circle.
• They made drawings of the human
figure inscribed within the basic
outline of the circle and the square,
thereby demonstrating that the
human proportions reflected divine
ratios.
The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci
an illustration of the human body
inscribed in the circle and the square 18
derived from a passage about geometry
and human proportions in Vitruvius'
writings
De Architectura (“On Architecture”)

• Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. 80–

70 BC, died after c. 15 BC) was
a Roman writer, architect and
engineer, active in the 1st
century BC. He is best known as the
author of the multi-volume work De
Architectura ("On Architecture").
• Vitruvius is famous for asserting in
his book De architectura that a
structure must exhibit the three
qualities of firmitas, utilitas,
venustas – that is, it must be solid,
useful, beautiful. These are
sometimes termed the Vitruvian 19
virtues or the Vitruvian Triad.
Discovery of Perspective

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

• A Florentine goldsmith,
Brunelleschi moved to Rome and
visited the ancient ruins.
Brunelleschi codified the principles
of geometrically accurate linear
perspective, making possible the
exact representation of a 3-
dimensional object on a 2-
dimensional surface.
• In making careful drawings of such
repetitive elements as the arches
of aqueducts, he realized that
parallel horizontal lines converge
at a point on the horizon and that 20
elements of like size diminish
proportionally in the distance.
• This discovery had a profound effect of
art, architecture and civic design
during and after the Renaissance.
• Brunelleschi observed that with a fixed
single point of view, parallel lines
appear to converge at a single point in
the distance.
• Brunelleschi applied a single vanishing
point to a canvas, and discovered a
method for calculating depth.

21
Characteristics of Renaissance Architecture

• Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion,

geometry and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in
the architecture of classical antiquity and in particular ancient
Roman architecture, of which many examples remained.
• Inspired by Roman buildings, orderly arrangements
of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of semi-circular
arches hemispherical domes, niches and aedicule replaced the more
complex proportional systems and irregular profiles
of medieval buildings.

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1. Plan
• Square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually
based on a module.
• Within a church, the module is often the width of an aisle.

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2. Facade
• Symmetrical around their
vertical axis, domestic
buildings are often surmounted
by a cornice.

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 25
Palladian Villas
3. Columns & Pilasters
• The Roman orders of columns are
used: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian and Composite.
• Used either as structural,
supporting an arcade or
architrave, or purely decorative,
set against a wall in the form of
pilasters.
• During the Renaissance,
architects aimed to use columns,
pilasters, and entablatures as an
integrated system.
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4. Arches
• Arches are semi-circular or (in the
Mannerist style) segmental.
• Arches are often used in arcades,
supported on piers or columns
with capitals.
• There may be a section of
entablature between the capital
and the springing of the arch.

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5. Vaults
• Vaults do not have ribs.
• They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the
Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular.

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Barrel Vault
6. Domes
• The dome is used frequently,
both as a very large structural
feature that is visible from the
exterior, and also as a means of
roofing smaller spaces where
they are only visible internally.

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7. Ceiling
• Refitted with flat or coffered
ceilings.
• They are not left open as in
Medieval architecture.
• They are frequently painted or
decorated.

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Roofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings,

frequently painted
Coffered ceilings Flat painted ceilings

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8. Doors
• Door usually have square lintels.
• They may be set within an arch or
surmounted by a triangular or
segmental pediment.
• Openings that do not have doors
are usually arched and frequently
have a large or decorative
keystone.

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9. Windows
• Windows may be paired and set
within a semi-circular arch.
• They may have square lintels
and triangular or segmental
pediments, which are often
used alternately.
• Windows are used to bring light
into the building and in
domestic architecture, to give
views.
• Stained glass, although
sometimes present, is not a
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feature.
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10. Walls
• External walls are generally of
highly-finished ashlar masonry,
laid in straight courses.
• The corners of buildings are
often emphasised by rusticated
“quoins”.
• Basements and ground floors
were often rusticated.
• Internal walls are smoothly
plastered and surfaced with
white-chalk paint. For more
formal spaces, internal surfaces
are decorated with frescoes.

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Left: Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Michelozzo di
Bartolomeo.

Top: Quoining on the corners of Palazzo

Aragona Gonzaga, Rome.

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Rustication
• A popular decorative treatment of the Renaissance palazzo
was rustication, in which a masonry wall is textured rather than
smooth.

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11. Detailing
• Courses, mouldings and all
decorative details are carved with
great precision.
• Studying and mastering the details
of the ancient Romans was one of
the important aspects of
Renaissance theory. The different
orders each required different sets
of details.
• Mouldings stand out around doors
and windows rather than being
recessed, as in Gothic Architecture.
• Sculptured figures may be set in
niches or placed on plinths. They are 38
not integral to the building as in
Medieval architecture.
Renaissance Architectural Detailing, above for Malibu
California Mediterranean Revival home
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Planar Classicism

• Renaissance architecture tends to feature planar classicism (i.e. “flat

classicism”).
• The walls of a Renaissance building (both exterior and interior) are
embellished with classical motifs (e.g. columns, pediments, blind
arches) of minor physical depth, such that they intrude minimally on
the two-dimensional appearance of the walls.
• The walls of a Renaissance building serve as flat canvases for a
classical veneer.
• This contrasts sharply with Baroque architecture, in which walls are
deeply curved and sculpted (“sculpted classicism”).

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Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

was one of the foremost
architects and engineers of
the Italian Renaissance. He is
perhaps most famous for his
discovery of perspective and for
engineering the dome of
the Florence Cathedral, but his
accomplishments also include
other architectural works,
sculpture, mathematics,
engineering and even ship design.
His principal surviving works are
to be found in Florence, Italy. 43
The Florence Cathedral (1436)

• Also known as Cathedral of Santa Maria.

• It is located at Florence, Italy.
• It served as a church.
• Brunelleschi drew upon his knowledge of ancient Roman
construction as well as lingering Gothic traditions to produce an
innovative synthesis.
• Construction type & Material: Marble, Brick

• Florence Cathedral is commonly known simply as ”The

Duomo” because of the beauty and magnificence of Brunelleschi's
design and its striking impact on the skyline of Florence.

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 46
Floor Plan
Section

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• A circular masonry dome can be built without supports, called
centering, because each course of bricks is a horizontal arch that
resists compression.
• In Florence, the octagonal inner dome was thick enough for an
imaginary circle to be embedded in it at each level, a feature that
would hold the dome up eventually, but could not hold the bricks in
place while the mortar was still wet.
• Brunelleschi used a herringbone brick pattern to transfer the weight
of the freshly laid bricks to the nearest vertical ribs of the non-
circular dome.

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• This dome is the most famous
transitional work between
Medieval and Renaissance
architecture.
• Although at first glance it appears
to be very much a Gothic dome
(given its pointed shape and ribbed
frame), it is considered a
transitional work due to
Brunelleschi's attention to
balanced proportions and simple
decoration.
• It is crowned by a lantern, a
rooftop structure with openings for 51
lighting or ventilation.
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EXTRA
• The dome is an octagonal dome higher and wider than any
that had ever been built, with no external buttresses to keep it
from spreading and falling under its own weight.
• The drum or base of the dome was already in place before
Brunelleschi received the assignment to complete it.
• The span of the octagonal drum was 140 feet, a very large
span for a dome at that time, especially one without the
possibility of external buttressing or supports.
• Brunelleschi knew that a hemispheric dome (one which
is perfectly rounded) would not be able to span this distance
without the use of external buttresses.
• As a result, he decided to make a pointed dome. He placed 8
major ribs at the points of the octagon, and 16 minor ribs (two
in the space between every two major ribs), all tied together 54
by lateral bands.
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• A huge statue of Brunelleschi now
sits outside the Palazzo dei
Canonici in the Piazza del Duomo,
looking thoughtfully up towards
his greatest achievement, the
dome that would forever
dominate the panorama of
Florence. It is still the largest
masonry dome in the world.

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The Foundling Hospital (1421-1444)

• Featured a continuous arcade

• At the hospital the arcading is
three dimensional, creating a
loggia with domed vaults in
each bay.
• Use of Corinthian columns
across its main facade and
around an internal courtyard.
• The design was based in Roman
architecture.

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 61
The Foundling Hospital is often considered as the first
building of the Renaissance.
Leon Battista Alberti

Alberti was an Italian author,

artist, architect, poet, priest, lingu
ist, philosopher, cryptographer
and general Renaissance
humanist polymath.

“Men can do all things if they will” 62

• Was a classical theorist who saw architecture as a way to address
societal order.
• Alberti defined the Renaissance architect as a universalist, an
intellectual, a man of genius and a consort to those in positions of
power and authority. He himself was a Renaissance man.

63
The Palazzo Rucellai (1446-1451) was the first
building to use the classical orders on a
Renaissance domestic building.
Basilica of Sant’ Andrea (1472-1494)

• The Basilica of Sant‘

Andrea is in Mantua, Lombard
y, Italy.
• It is one of the major works of
15th century Renaissance
architecture in Northern Italy.
• The facade of S. Andrea,
Mantua, (1472-94) is a
synthesis of the triumphal arch
and the temple.

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• The assemblage of classical elements on the interior presents the
first Renaissance vision rivalling the monumentality of the interior
spaces of such ancient Roman ruins as the basilicas or baths.

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Donato Bramante

Donato Dramante (1444 –1514)

was an Italian architect, who
introduced Renaissance
architecture to Milan and
the High Renaissance style to
Rome, where his plan for St.
Peter's Basilica formed the basis
of the design executed
by Michelangelo.

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St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome (1505)

• Bramante’s scheme
represented a building on the
scale of the Baths of Diocletian
capped by a dome comparable
to that of the Pantheon.
• Started in April 1506.
• By the time the church was
completed in nearly 150 years
later, almost every major
architect of the 16th and 17th c
had been engaged.

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Andrea Palladio

Andrea Palladio (1508 –1580) was

an architect active in the Republic
of Venice.

Palladio, influenced
by Roman and Greek
architecture, primarily
by Vitruvius, is widely considered
the most influential individual in
the history of Western
architecture.
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The Four Book of Architecture

• Andrea Palladio produced a body of

work in architecture that arguably has
been the most written about in all of
Western architecture.
• He went on study trips to Rome and
made accurate information on classical
proportions, which he later used in his
designs for buildings.

• The Four Books of Architecture:

• Orders of architecture
• Domestic architecture
• Public buildings
• Town planning
• Temples

• Numerals on the plans give widths and

lengths of rooms and heights. It was the 72
most coherent system of proportions in
the Renaissance.
Villa Rotonda, Vicenza (1566-1570)

• Villa Rotonda was his most famous residential design.

• It is square in plan with a central 2 story rotonda.
• The central domed space radiates out to the 4 porticoes and to the
elegantly proportioned rooms in the corner.
• It is a powerful yet simple scheme, one that would be copied many
times.

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• The design is for a
completely symmetrical
building having a square
plan with four facades, each
of which has a
projecting portico.
• The whole is contained
within an imaginary circle
which touches each corner
of the building and centres
of the porticos.

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• The name La Rotonda refers to the central circular hall with
its dome.
• To describe the villa, as a whole, as a 'rotonda' is technically
incorrect, as the building is not circular but rather the intersection of
a square with a cross.
• Each portico has steps leading up, and opens via a small cabinet or
corridor to the circular domed central hall.
• This and all other rooms were proportioned with mathematical
precision according to Palladio's own rules of architecture which he
published in the Quattro Libri dell'Architettura.

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"Man is the measure
of all things."

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“David”, a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.