Filippo Brunelleschi Research Paper

Born in 1377 to a distinguished Florentine notary, Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi, and his wife Giuliana Spini, Filippo Brunelleschi was the second of three sons. Not much is known about his childhood, but it is speculated that his father had wanted him to follow in his footsteps in law as a notary. Filippo had other plans in mind, however. In 1392, Brunelleschi became a goldsmithing and sculpting apprentice. During his apprenticeship, he studied and mastered drawing and painting, woodcarving, metal sculpting and much more. He had a mentor in Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, a Florentine merchant and doctor. He taught Brunelleschi geometry and encouraged his passion in math, science, and technology. These skills would serve him greatly in the coming years. After his apprenticeship, Brunelleschi received the title
All of his life’s work, including his apprenticeships, schooling, and design, seemed to have prepared him for this monumental assignment. For more than a century, the roof of the dome was open to the elements. The assignment had dismayed many an architect during this period. Several domes had been constructed using cement, but the formula for concrete had been lost during the Dark Ages. The architects were also leery of using the common flying buttresses of the Gothic style; they wanted the design to reflect the clean lines and simple style of their Greek and Roman past. Brunelleschi solved the dome-shaped puzzle with the idea to build two domes - a lighter, outer dome and a heavier, inner dome. The outer dome was constructed using brick and mortar placed in a herringbone pattern to eliminate the need for a central support. The inner dome was made using sandstone beams and marble from local quarries. This choice of materials had a hand in his winning of the commission, as it greatly reduced the cost of labor and