Brunelleschi: Studies of His Technology and Inventions

By Frank D. Prager and Gustina Scaglia

A pioneer of Italian Renaissance architecture, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) is most famous for his daring and original ideas, among them the magnificent dome of Florence's famed cathedral — Santa Maria del Fiore. For the project, which was started in 1420 and substantially completed by 1434, Brunelleschi designed a huge dome without supporting framework. The construction took place during much of his lifetime and formed the basis of Italian architecture of the period.
Complemented by 28 photographs and 18 line illustrations, this comprehensive narrative describes Brunelleschi's many remarkable achievements, among them masonry techniques for building the cupola; construction concepts, including the use of stone and wood chains; machines he devised and built (a reversible hoist and elevated cranes); and other inventions.
Of value to students of architecture and engineering, this volume will appeal to anyone with an interest in Renaissance studies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: May 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9780486157283

Book preview

DOVER BOOKS ON ARCHITECTURE

ALADDIN BUILT IN A DAY HOUSE CATALOG, 1917, The Aladdin Co. (28591-X)

AIA ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE TO NASSAU AND SUFFOLK COUNTIES, LONG ISLAND, The American Inst. of Architects, Long Island Chapter, and The Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. (26946-9)

CONCRETE COUNTRY RESIDENCES: Photographs and Floor Plans of Turn-of-the-Century Homes, Atlas Portland Cement Company. (42733-1)

BADGER’S ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF CAST-IRON ARCHITECTURE, Daniel D. Badger. (24223-4)

BENNETT’S SMALL HOUSE CATALOG, 1920, Ray H. Bennett Lumber Co., Inc. (27809-3)

BICKNELL’S VICTORIAN BUILDINGS, A. J. Bicknell. (23904-7)

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA: History and Speculation, James Bonwick. (42521-5)

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECTURE, Somers Clarke and R. Engelbach. (26485-8)

TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY HOUSE DESIGNS, William T. Comstock. (28186-8)

THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, Clarence Cook. (28586-3)

GREAT BUILDINGS OF BOSTON, George M. Cushing, Jr. (24219-6)

THE ARCHITECTURAL PLATES FROM THE ENCYCLOPEDIE, Denis Diderot. (27954-5)

THE ARCHITECTURE OF COUNTRY HOUSES, Andrew J. Downing. (22003-6)

VICTORIAN COTTAGE RESIDENCES, Andrew J. Downing. (24078-9)

PRINCIPLES OF VICTORIAN DECORATIVE DESIGN, Christopher Dresser. (28900-1)

PALLADIO’S ARCHITECTURE AND ITS INFLUENCE: A Photographic Guide, Joseph C. Farber and Henry Hope Reed. (23922-5)

VICTORIAN HOUSES: A Treasury of Lesser-Known Examples, Edmund Gillon and Clay Lancaster. (22966-1)

BEAUX-ARTS ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK: A Photographic Guide, Edmund V. Gillon, Jr. and Henry Hope Reed. (25698-7)

PHILADELPHIA THEATERS: A Pictorial Architectural History, Irvin R. Glazer. (27833-6)

117 HOUSE DESIGNS OF THE 20s, Gordon-Van Tine Co. (26959-0)

FORM, FUNCTION, & DESIGN, Paul Jacques Grillo. (20182-1)

THE DECORATIVE DESIGNS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, David A. Hanks. (40730-6)

MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE, Edward Warren Hoak and Willis Humphrey Church. (42231-3)

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S FALLINGWATER: The House and Its History, Donald Hoffmann. (27430-6)

UNDERSTANDING FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S ARCHITECTURE, Donald Hoffmann. (28364-X)

HOLLY’S PICTURESQUE COUNTRY SEATS, Henry Hudson Holly. (27856-5)

VICTORIA ORNAMENTAL CARPENTRY, Ben Karp. (24144-0)

EARLY DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF CONNECTICUT, J. Frederick Kelly. (21136-3)

GOTHICK ARCHITECTURE: A Reprint of the Original 1742 Treatise, Batty Langley and Thomas Langley. (42614-9)

THE CRRY OF TOMORROW AND ITS PLANNING, Le Corbusier. (Available in U.S. only.) (25332-5)

AMERICAN VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE, Arnold Lewis and Keith Morgan (eds.). (23177-1)

THE OPULENT INTERIORS OF THE GILDED AGE: All 203 Photographs from Artistic Houses, with New Text, Arnold Lewis, James Turner, and Steven McQuillin. (25250-7)

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MCKIM, MEAD & WHITE IN PHOTOGRAPHS, PLANS AND ELEVATIONS, McKim, Mead, and White. (26556-0)

BROADWAY THEATRES: History and Architecture, William Morrison (40244-4)

THE BROWN DECADES: A Study of the Arts in America, 1865-1895, Lewis Mumford. (20200-3)

PALLISER’S NEW COTTAGE HOMES, 1887, Palliser & Co. (42816-8)

EMPIRE STYLEBOOK OF INTERIOR DESIGN: All 72 Plates from the Recueil de décorations intérieures with New English Text, Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine. (26754-7)

PERSPECTIVE IN ARCHITECTURE AND PAINTING: An Unabridged Reprint of the English-and-Latin Edition of the 1693 Perspectiva Pictorum et Architectorum, Andrea Pozzo. (25855-6)

AN ALBUM OF MAYA ARCHITECTURE, Tatiana Proskouriakoff. (42484-7)

SMALL HOUSES OF THE TWENTIES: The Sears, Roebuck 1926 House Catalog, Sears, Roebuck and Co. (26709-1)

THE FIVF BOOKS OF ARCHITECTURE, Sebastiano Serlio. (24349-4)

TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY HOUSES, COTTAGES AND VILLAS: Floor Plans and Line Illustrations for 118 Homes from Shoppell’s Catalogs, R. W Shoppell et al. (24567-5)

SLOAN’S VICTORIAN BUILDINGS, Samuel Sloan. (24009-6)

AMERICAN BARNS AND COVERED BRIDGES, Eric Sloane. (42561-4)

MORE CRAFTSMAN HOMES, Gustav Stickley. (24252-8)

PLANTATIONS OF THE CAROUNA Low COUNTRY, Samuel Gaillard Stoney. (26089-5)

KINDERGARTEN CHATS AND OTHER WRITINGS, Louis H. Sullivan. (23812-1)

COUNTRY AND SUBURBAN HOMES OF THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL PERIOD, H. V. von Hoist. (24373-7)

CALIFORNIA BUNGALOWS OF THE TWENTIES, Henry L. Wilson. (27507-8)

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Copyright

Copyright © 1970 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note

This Dover edition, first published in 2004, is an unabridged republication of the work originally published by The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1970. This edition has been published by special arrangement with The MIT Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prager, Frank D.

Brunelleschi : studies of his technology and inventions / Frank D. Prager and Gustina Scaglia.

p.cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9780486157283

1. Brunelleschi, Filippo, 1377-1446—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Building—Italy—Florence—History—15th century. I. Scaglia, Gustina. II. Title.

NA1123.B8P7 2004

720’.92—dc22

2004049421

Manufactured in the United States of America

Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, N.Y. 11501

Table of Contents

DOVER BOOKS ON ARCHITECTURE

Title Page

Copyright Page

PREFACE

WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED

MEASURES AND VALUES

NOTE ON TECHNICAL MANUSCRIPTS INFLUENCED BY BRUNELLESCHI

BEGINNINGS OF BRUNELLESCHIAN CONCEPTS

BRUNELLESCHI’S MASONRY WORK

THE NEW CONCEPTS FOR CONSTRUCTION

DRAWINGS OF BRUNELLESCHIAN MACHINES

HISTORY OF BRUNELLESCHI’S MACHINES

BRUNELLESCHI AS PATENTEE AND CONTRACTOR

BRUNELLESCHI ON INVENTION AND BUILDING

CONCLUSIONS

DOCUMENTS

BRUNELLESCHI’S INFLUENCE

INDEX

A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST

PREFACE

When we undertook these studies, we knew that the architectural works of Filippo Brunelleschi belong to the most famous and the most controversial creations of art. We noted that his methods are equally renowned and equally questioned in the history of technology. Admirers of Filippo are convinced that he, single-handedly, transformed both building art and building technique by fundamental inventions. Others rather see him as simply reacting to earlier trends or innovations.

Vasari, a historian unusually well acquainted with Filippo, described him as one of the men who, though puny in person and insignificant of figure, are yet endowed with so much greatness of soul and such force of character that they, unless they can occupy themselves with difficult, nay, almost impossible undertakings and carry them to perfection, they can find no peace in their lives. Such men are always controversial, and we were not surprised to find that the Dome officials for whom Filippo worked repeatedly criticized his human reactions. Even his friends, Taccola and Manetti, show him as irascible, sarcastic, and self-centered. It may still be true that Filippo had unique powers of visualization and visual expression and that he neither wanted nor needed assistance. In our studies we were interested in these problems and were prepared to find support for any of the views in print. However, if Filippo left an imprint nearly as deep as is often assumed, we hoped to learn by what incidents or powers he achieved it.

The authentic structures are most fascinating, and the records are both plentiful and interesting, although they are complex and often inconclusive. Even less conclusive are the evaluations of scholars. Successive generations see Filippo through different eyes. Historians have found in him an heir to Gothic achievement, a victor over Gothic barbarism, or the exponent of a permanent Classic presence, either a pure artist or a mathematical genius, and even—if possible—something of all these things.

We tried to determine authentic facts about Filippo and his works and tried this on a fairly comprehensive basis. He was an engineer, an artist, a businessman, and sometimes a man active in public affairs. For these reasons we took an interest in observing, if possible, his position in technology, art, economy, and history. We would be equally interested in views that he may have held in science, philosophy, ethics, and literature, but we found almost nothing reported that he said or wrote about such matters, and we thought it would be futile to speculate about his possible attitudes in matters of such complexity. On the other hand, we found his technical work, or in some cases at least his technical possibilities, capable of description in relatively definite terms in view of the simple and rigid laws of mechanics.

The studies presented here are a revised and unified edition of articles originally published by Prager as contributions to the history of inventions and technology, and by Scaglia as work in the history of artists and art. The present revision is formulated by Prager, although it is based on review by both of us. We received help from a great number of our friends, and we had the assistance of capable librarians in Florence and elsewhere. We are specially indebted even now to the late George Sarton. Valuable information was given by Ulrich Middeldorf and Alessandro Parronchi. The drawings outlined for this book were capably and patiently prepared by George Rich of Philadelphia. Last but not least, our thanks go to Henry Millon, architect and historian at M.I.T., for suggesting this new edition of our studies and for aiding us by his kind and careful review of an earlier draft.

FRANK D. PRAGER

GUSTINA SCAGLIA

October 1969

WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED

Brunelleschiana

C. von Fabriczy, Brunelleschiana, Berlin, 1907.

Costruzione

C. Guasti, Santa Maria del Fiore. La costruzione, Florence, 1887.

Cupola

C. Guasti, La cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, 1857.

Fabriczy

C. von Fabriczy, Filippo Brunelleschi, sein Leben und seine Werke, Stuttgart, 1892.

Forma e colore

P. Sanpaolesi, La cupola del Brunelleschi (Forma e colore. I grandi cicli dell’arte), Florence, 1965.

Il progetto

P. Sanpaolesi, La cupola di Santa Maria del Fiore. Il progetto. La costruzione, Rome, 1941.

Manetti

A. Manetti, Vita di Filippo Brunelleschi, ed. E. Toesca, Florence, 1927.

Nardini

A. Nardini-Despotti-Mospignotti, Filippo Brunelleschi e la cupola, Florence, 1885.

Nelli

G. B. Nelli, Piante ed alzati interiori . . . di S. Maria del Fiore . . . , ed. G. B. C. Nelli, Florence, 1755.

Rilievi

Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, Rilievi e studi sulla cupola del Brunelleschi, Florence, 1939.

Sanpaolesi

P. Sanpaolesi, Brunelleschi, Milan, 1962.

Trattati

Francesco di Giorgio, Trattati, ed. C. Maltese, Milan, 1967.

Vasari,

G. Vasari, Le vite de’ più eccellenti architettori, pittori e scultori italiani, 1568, translated by G. du C. de Vere, London, 1912-1915.

Zibaldone

Buonaccorso Ghiberti, Zibaldone, unpublished manuscript, BR 228, Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale.

MEASURES AND VALUES¹

The Florentine braccio was 23 inches long.² When the documents specify architectural measures, we generally translate 1 braccio as 2 feet, but 10 braccia as 19 feet, thus rounding the measure up or down to the nearest integral number of feet, except in the rare cases where the text specifies fractions.³

The libra equaled slightly less than ¾ pound avoirdupois,⁴ which we call ¾ English pound. A ton, migliaia, was 1,000 libre and a libra had 12 unciae.

The lira had 20 soldi of 12 denarii each.⁵ The florin was worth 3.13 to 3.15 lire in Brunelleschi’s time.⁶

Typical wages and salaries were as follows:⁷

The Calendar used the Annunciation system. For example the Florentine year 1420 ran from 25 March 1420 (our 25 March 1420) to 24 March 1420 (our 24 March 1421).⁸ In our translations we generally use the modern form of stating the date. In some cases, where this could lead to confusion or doubt, we give both dates, for example, 24 March 1420-1421.

NOTE ON TECHNICAL MANUSCRIPTS INFLUENCED BY BRUNELLESCHI

Most of the facts collected in the following note were discovered by Gustina Scaglia, together with persuasive proofs of attributions and dates. The facts—stated here without the proofs, which would lead us too far at this point—suggest certain conclusions relating to the work of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Francesco di Giorgio, Leonardo, and others. While we may not agree on each detail of the conclusions, we agree on the following general survey of our source materials recorded on paper or parchment.

Brunelleschi rarely resorted to the use of paper and the like, but his rival Lorenzo Ghiberti and his friend Mariano Taccola left us a record of his technology. Ghiberti’s collection or Zibaldone may have been redrawn and rewritten by his grandson Buonaccorso; fortunately it survives (Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale, BR 228). This set does not mention Brunelleschi’s name but is close enough to the more explicit Taccola and to the still more specific documents of the Opera del Duomo to pass as a semiauthentic record of Filippo’s ideas, at least with reference to mechanics.

Taccola wrote a treatise De ingeneis, finished in 1433, about the time that Brunelleschi finished the Cupola. (Books I and II are in Munich, Lat. 197; III and IV are in Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale, Palat. 766.) In a Sequel to this work (Munich) Taccola writes specifically and pungently about Brunelleschi and quotes a long speech of the master. Taccola later rewrote his treatise, in his De machinis (Munich, Lat. 28800), and that version as well as the first was copied repeatedly; there are at least three copies of the later work (New York, Spencer 136; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Lat. 7239; Venice, Marciana, Lat. 2941, the latter being mixed with other copywork). There is no evidence that anyone of significance for the history of technology read the later work or any of its copies, which were made for men of war and of state. There is, however, much evidence that Taccola’s earlier work was read and studied by men of great technical importance. Selections from his characteristic graphic and written expressions—including many of those apparently reflecting Brunelleschian ideas—recur unmistakably in works of Francesco di Giorgio (who also added a few notes to Lat. 197), of Antonio da San Gallo, Bartolommeo Neroni, Oreste Biringuccio, and others, as will be described in the following paragraphs.

Almost invariably these selections from Brunelleschi-Taccola are mixed with copywork from a Machinery Complex of unknown parentage, which also appears to be strongly influenced by Brunelleschi. Its archetype has not been found thus far. It deals with wormgear drives, mainly for hoists, cars, and mills, and with other mill drives.

One of the first, and surely one of the principal works containing this mixture of elements, is the Opusculum de architectura, an autograph of Francesco di Giorgio datable about 1472 (London, British Museum, Harley 3281). This London manuscript is substantially limited to machinery, except for a few fortress plans, but is completed by another and more truly architectural autograph of Francesco di Giorgio, possibly begun when he finished his mechanical copywork. Fragments of the architectural record are preserved in Florence (Uffizi, Taccuino of Francesco di Giorgio). In addition the Vaticana in Rome (Urb. Lat. 1757) has a minute version of the London manuscript. It may be Francesco’s personal record of his mechanical studies and developments.

A vastly amplified and clarified version of these beginnings is the substance of Francesco’s Trattati (Florence, Laurentiana, ex-Ashburnham 361, and Turin, Biblioteca Reale, Saluzziano 148, both published by C. Maltese, Milan, 1967). Here the ex-pupil of Taccola presents among other things an entirely new text, original as well as careful in formulation, although fragments of the source materials can be detected. These Treatises are written by scribes, and we think the illustrations are drawn by hired draftsmen, but there are a few corrections and additions in Francesco’s own hand. Brunelleschian forms of architecture may also be seen in the Treatises, side by side with rediscovered Roman architecture and Vitruvian theory. The work of Francesco also shows a newly developing architecture of fortresses; its history is often described but continues to pose questions, as the transformations of historic forms, shown in Francesco’s record, are manifold and complex.

Contemporaries of Francesco produced somewhat similar copywork, as to machines, but did not show nearly as much originality. This may be noted from a codex in Siena (Biblioteca Comunale, S.IV.5); one in Milan (Ambrosiana, N.191); and several in Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale (Magliabecchiano II.III.314 and XVIII.V.2 and Palat. 767, the latter also copied in Venice, Marciana, Ital. Z.86). All these have, mainly, selections from Taccola and the Machinery Complex.

One man of the late Quattrocento seemed to follow Brunelleschi without use of Taccola or Francesco di Giorgio as intermediaries. This was Giuliano da San Gallo. (His notebook, S.IV.8 in Siena, was published by R. Falb, Il taccuino senese di Giuliano San Gallo, Siena, 1902.) Again different is the position of his nephew and pupil Antonio the Younger, who again made many scores of exact copies from rather medieval drawings of Taccola (preserved in the Uffizi in Florence). The San Gallos also continued the historic architectural research, initiated by Brunelleschi. More than Brunelleschi and Francesco di Giorgio, they concentrated on details and ornaments to be found in the ruins. Generally they may be seen as belonging to the generation of the cricket cage, ridiculed by Michelangelo.

This also was the time of Leonardo. It is unnecessary here to discuss this great man’s fame as an artist, but it must be noted that he appears rather secondary as a follower of Brunelleschian technology, although he contributed to putting the uppermost dot (the palla) on the Cupola. His notebooks show drawings of the famous hoist and load positioners, in positions similar to those shown by Ghiberti and Giuliano San Gallo, and without original contribution, comparable to those of Francesco di Giorgio.

The books of Francesco were copied again in the Cinquecento. An important copy is preserved in Florence (Accademia, E.2.I.28). It is followed by others (Florence, B.N., Magl. II.I.141, and Siena, B.C., S.IV.4), which are sometimes believed to be from Francesco’s lifetime but more probably depend on work done decades after his death. No doubt his copyists and followers continued to delve into his famous Treatises, and the Florentine copy (II.I.141) includes, in misplaced position, a long autographic translation of Vitruvius, by Francesco. More definitive reviews of this period may be expected from G. Scaglia and A. Parronchi.

Still other versions of the Brunelleschian ideas, usually derived via Taccola or Francesco or both, were made in the Cinquecento by such men as Bartolommeo Neroni (Siena, Biblioteca Comunale, S.IV.6), Pietro Cataneo (Florence, Uffizi, Libro di Cataneo), and Oreste Biringuccio (Siena, Biblioteca Comunale, S.IV.1). At this late time the Brunelleschian elements are less abundant but can still be found on some of the manuscript pages. Gradually they also found their way into printed books on technology and architecture, although we looked for them in vain in the books of the renewers of Vitruvian architecture: Alberti, Serlio, Palladio, and others. As is well known, the master influenced the style of the Renaissance, but his name was not mentioned and his specific ideas were not considered in most of the written output of that period. He was partly forgotten, but it seems he was too strong to be forgotten entirely.

F.D.P.

BEGINNINGS OF BRUNELLESCHIAN CONCEPTS⁹

1 In his own day, Filippo Brunelleschi (Florence, 1377-1446) became known as the man who renewed Roman masonry work. This renewal is now identified with the architectural Renaissance. The sober-minded Florentines appreciated its economy as well as its harmonious proportions, and they said its economy came from the introduction of vaulting without armature. Such was the view of Filippo’s