My Kid Could Paint That

Brunelleschi, Pazzi Chapel, 1460?

Brunelleschi, as an artist, ostensibly lost perspective. A perpetual number two to Ghiberti, his relief and painting work was also often overlooked in favor of other people's work. But, in the world of architecture, he was almost unrivaled in his brilliance. From the beautifully austere exteriors of his buildings (see: Pazzi Chapel), to their placement and humanist features, the architectural work of Brunelleschi trumps any of his other work, putting him in a building league all his own.

Michael Baxandall, a noted art historian, notes that Brunelleschi was a "rediscoverer" of perspective as an artistic positioning tool. His use of perspective in all of his different mediums showed him to be a special breed of academian, one that could take his pitfalls as a painter and fix them in his sculpture or his architecture. The somewhat rudimentary implementation of perspective in his paintings became wonderfully symmetrical architecture. The weird and uncouth dimensions on some of his figures would beget the sleek lines and perfect proportions of buildings like the Pazzi Chapel. Moreso than his greatest rival Ghiberti, Brunelleschi was a true renaissance man.

Filippo Brunelleschi, Florence Cathedral Dome, 1436

Brunelleschi came to be known as a father of architecture and a genius of design, but one thing he was never known for, was quitting. Filippo became a goldsmith and began to sculpt, he showed promise and creativity, but often fell short in competition. Of course he had very talented rivals, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, but Brunelleschi continued and studied the new subject of architecture and of course never forgot Lorenzo's name.

After returning from Rome and eventually being commissioned to design the dome for the Florence Cathedral, Brunelleschi presented the world of architecture with a dome design that absolutely made a mockery of any competitors. The dome's base spans forty-two meters, making the dome a massive mathematical feat. As Filippo introduced a new way to support a dome of such massive proportion, he took pride in doing everything his own way. From the scaffolding to devices used to leverage building materials, Brunelleschi created the dome's design and the process in which it was built. Of course Brunelleschi still managed to let Lorenzo make mistakes, only for him to swoop in and make a fool of Ghiberti. All in all, Brunelleschi's architectural achievements, as well as his wit and eventual winning mentality, earn him admiration that I believe he has earned.

Filippo Brunelleschi, The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401

Filippo Brunelleschi's The Sacrifice of Isaac depicts the biblical story of Abraham's test from God. In order to examine the strength of his faith, God put Abraham to the ultimate test and asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac and upon agreeing to do so, angels swoop in to stop the act. Although there are probably a million things wrong with the passage, and I would hope my father would never come this close to ending my life, Brunelleschi portrays the last gasp moment beautifully. I admired his quality craftsmanship that, of course, came from being the goldsmith that he was. However, after further investigation, his piece did not quite cut it. Lorenzo Ghiberti had done it again, beating him in competition, only to further generate the hatred felt for him by Brunelleschi.

Picking himself up from the defeat, Brunelleschi traveled immediately to Rome to study architecture. Judging by his architectural prowess, his change of field was very successful and yes, he managed to succeed in revenge as well. What else do you do when your sworn enemy works for you? Let him screw up of course, because Brunelleschi could clearly do it better, as he showed time and time again and ultimately embarrassed Ghiberti during their work with the Florence Cathedral.