Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved Ross King’s book, The Judgment of Paris, which I read in 2018. A complete historical document of a fascinating period of time, subject matter and cast of characters. I gave that book five stars and it spurred me on to read more Ross King, who has written several books on art history, like Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and Leonardo and the Last Supper. This book is about an architectural feat of biblical proportions. I always wonder, “how the hell did they do that amazing thing (fill in the blank) way back then.” This book is all about that. Back then during the Renaissance, the city officials made decisions sort of backasswards. They started with a ‘vision’ of how the church dome would go. They wanted something impressive, a real conversation starter, and that conversation would be how Florence was the greatest city on the flat Earth. (The Dome was worked on from 1419-1436. The Earth was flat back then, if you were listening to the Roman Catholic Church). So, the dome … no one and I mean no one on planet Earth, flat or otherwise, had a clue how on to build the dome as envisioned. The city leaders put out an RFP to architects far and wide and many responded with their plans … for a job of a lifetime … but that job went to a clock maker. (That’s what the book says, but Bruno had designed other construction projects.) Brunelleschi’s plan was innovative and pioneering AND throughout the process the clock maker INVENTED additional machines and techniques, heretofore, not previously invented. Like a boat to transport marble and a hydraulic machinery to hoist tons of stone. Ross King credits Bruno, the founding father of Renaissance architecture, with reinventing the field of architecture. Super interesting.
Pingback: Top 50 Books to Read Next List | snyderemarks.com