Florentine Architecture and Sculpture

Question 1

Palazzo Rucellai by Leon Alberti

Answer 1

1455 in Florence

• Commissioned by Giovanni Rucellai
• The palace is built with pietra serena-a type of gray stone
• The bottom floor is held up by Tuscan columns, the second floor by Alberti’s own style, and the third floor is held up by Corinthian columns
• The Colisseum, aka Flavian Ampitheatre, has the same alighnment of columns as the palazzo meaning that the Colisseum was the palazzo’s inspiration
• Each floor had its own special use: the bottom floor for business, the second for the main formal reception floor, and the third was for the private family and their sleeping quarters

Question 2

Church of Sant’ Andrea (façade) by Leon Alberti

Answer 2

1470 in Manua

• Alberti designed the facade but he never finished it
• The church was built to house a relic that contained the ‘blood’ of Christ
• The church was built with bricks since it was much cheaper to make bricks from clay than to build everything with stone
• Sant’ Andrea was commissioned by Ludovico Gonzaga
• The current dome on Sant’ Andrea was added in the 18th century

Question 3

David by Donatello

Answer 3

1446-1460 in Florence

• One of the two statues of King David by Donatello and is made of bronze
• The other statue of David by him is made of marble
• The earliest male nude since classical antiquity
• A political image for the purpose of symbolizing a nation’s triumph over its enemies; which may refer to Florence’s victory over Milan around the time
• Made for the Medici Palace

Question 4

Equestrian monument of Gattamelatta by Donatello

Answer 4

1443-1453, Padua

• Gattamelatta is the nickname of Erasmo da Narni
• Gattamelatta means honeyed cat
• The statue was commissioned by the Venetian Senate
• The statue was placed in front of the Basilica of Sant’ Antonio after its completion
• Narni was a mercenary of the Venetian army