Stories of renaissance: Filippo Brunelleschi

July 26, 2021

V I V A C E was created in the spirit of renewal – renewal of hope, renewal of community and renewal of perspective. 

Despite the turmoil that is taking place across the world right now, it is my hope that solidarity and creativity will be at the heart of the renewal that this pandemic has catalyzed.  

The word renaissance has a positive connotation, but it also generally implies an ending to a previous cycle.  Indeed, history has shown us that chaos is often a precursor to transformation. 

The European renaissance of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries are ripe with examples of innovators who not only dedicated themselves to solving the most pressing puzzles of their time, but actually reinvented certain schools of thought altogether. 

These stories can provide tremendous inspiration to those among us who are grappling with change, learning new tasks and tackling new problems to solve. 

Over the coming weeks, I will look closely at a few stories of renaissance (including others from the European Renaissance, but more recent ones as well). Building on my fascination with de Vinci, I will begin with the Italian Rennaissance. 

One story that is perhaps less known is that of Filippo Brunelleschi, the main architect of the dome of Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore.

Brunelleschi faced many challenges in constructing the dome.  First off, his background was as a goldsmith and a clockmaker and he was not terribly well-versed in large-scale construction despite being granted the commission to construct the dome.  Second, the sheer scale of the task was viewed as potentially impossible and many said that only an act of God could achieve it. Not to mention the time commitment involved—construction began in 1296 and was not completed until 1436. 

Equally, Brunelleschi’s approach was completely unconventional in that he chose to forego the traditional wooden centering structure that had customarily been used to support dome construction.  And of course, the construction was completed against the backdrop of war, plague and various professional and political rivalries. 

But it was conceived and it was constructed, with only one worker casualty.  And it still stands today, five centuries later.

What was the genius of Brunelleschi? 

Perhaps it was a mix of his technical gift, his ability to navigate complex engineering dilemmas and his mastery of a massive labor organization.  It should be noted that if today we remember Brunelleschi, we should also remember the hundreds of workers who dedicated their lives to bringing his work to life, each long and tiring day.

But Brunelleschi also had curiosity, passion and intuition.  He had done other things, seen other successes and failures and focused on solving problems as opposed to making them more complex. 

And although he was not an expert in constructing domes, he knew enough about the laws of physics to apply them in several contexts.  He was both an artist and a scientist.

What can we learn from Brunelleschi? 

While it is important to be technically excellent, make sure you spend time applying your craft in other contexts. 

Be an artist and a scientist.  Listen to yourself and the divine.  And follow your intuition.

CPM