Available online
Description
The sources for the study of Renaissance art and indeed for that of the Renaissance as a whole are many and varied. The contenders for pride of place have always been Italy's Classical inheritance,... rediscovered at the end of the Middle Ages, and an originality of thought which drew on other themes and motifs. A third source which has been more neglected than these first two is the legacy of the Middle Ages, which after all was manifested in every direction in which Renaissance artists looked. Howard Burns examines the new research which has recently shown the surprising influence of medieval architectural ideas on the work of the pioneering Florentine Renaissance architect, Filippo di Ser Brunellescho. By comparing detail in Medieval and Classical Roman buildings, and paintings and documents too, Mr. Burns is able to indicate how Brunelleschi drew on Classical architecture only for his detail. For the plans of his buildings it was the medieval traditions of architecture that provided the influence. And in many places the key influence was the most important building in old Florence, the Baptistery of the Cathedral, which was considered in the Renaissance to be Classical, but which we know today to have been medieval.
The sources for the study of Renaissance art and indeed for that of the Renaissance as a whole are many and varied. The contenders for pride of place have always been Italy's Classical inheritance,... rediscovered at the end of the Middle Ages, and an originality of thought which drew on other themes and motifs. A third source which has been more neglected than these first two is the legacy of the Middle Ages, which after all was manifested in every direction in which Renaissance artists looked. Howard Burns examines the new research which has recently shown the surprising influence of medieval architectural ideas on the work of the pioneering Florentine Renaissance architect, Filippo di Ser Brunellescho. By comparing detail in Medieval and Classical Roman buildings, and paintings and documents too, Mr. Burns is able to indicate how Brunelleschi drew on Classical architecture only for his detail. For the plans of his buildings it was the medieval traditions of architecture that provided the influence. And in many places the key influence was the most important building in old Florence, the Baptistery of the Cathedral, which was considered in the Renaissance to be Classical, but which we know today to have been medieval.
| Module code and title: | A201, Renaissance and Reformation |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A201; 09 |
| Recording date: | 1971-07-05 & 1971-11-29 |
| First transmission date: | 13-03-1972 |
| Published: | 1972 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:17:45 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Edward Hayward |
| Contributors: | Howard Burns; Robert Eddison; Charles Lane |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Baptistery of the Cathedral; Florentine Reaissance |
| Master spool number: | TLN27FM200 |
| Production number: | TLN27FM200 |
| Available to public: | no |
