paper as clearly as he was able, to give to the tribunal, in the
following manner: "Having considered the difficulties of this structure,
Magnificent Lords Wardens, I find that it is in no way possible to raise
the cupola perfectly round, seeing that the surface above, where the
lantern is to go, would be so great that the laying of any weight
thereupon would soon destroy it. Now it appears to me that those
architects who have no regard for the durability of their structures,
have no love of lasting memorials, and do not even know why they are
made. Wherefore I have determined to turn the inner part of this vault
in pointed sections, following the outer sides, and to give to these
the proportion and the curve of the quarter-acute arch, for the reason
that this curve, when turned, ever pushes upwards, so that, when it is
loaded with the lantern, both will unite to make the vaulting durable.
At the base it must be three braccia and three quarters in thickness,
and it must rise pyramidically, narrowing from without, until it closes
at the point where the lantern is to be; and at this junction the
vaulting must be one braccio and a quarter in thickness. Then on the
outer side there must be another vault, which must be two braccia and a
half thick at the base, in order to protect the inner one from the rain.
This one must also diminish pyramidically in due proportion, so that it
may come together at the foot of the lantern, like the other, in such
wise that at the summit it may be two-thirds of a braccio in thickness.
At each angle there must be a buttress, making eight in all: and in the
middle of every side there must be two buttresses, making sixteen in
all: and between the said angles, on every side, both within and
without, there must be two buttresses, each four braccia thick at the
base. The two said vaults, built in the form of a pyramid, must rise
together in equal proportion up to the height of the round window closed
by the lantern. There must then be made twenty-four buttresses with the
said vaults built round them, and six arches of grey-stone blocks, stout
and long, and well braced with irons, which must be covered with tin;
and over the said blocks there must be iron ties, binding the said
vaulting to its buttresses. The first part of the masonry, up to the
height of five braccia and a quarter, must be solid, leaving no vacant
space, and then the buttresses must be continued and the two vaults
separated. The first and second courses at the base must be strengthened
throughout with long blocks of grey-stone laid horizontally across them,
in such wise that both vaults of the cupola may rest on the said blocks.
At the height of every nine braccia in the said vaults there must be
little arches between one buttress and another, with thick ties of oak,
to bind together the said buttresses, which support the inner vault; and
then the said ties of oak must be covered with plates of iron, for the
sake of the staircases. The buttresses must be all built of grey-stone
and hard-stone, and all the sides of the cupola must be likewise of
hard-stone and bound with the buttresses up to the height of
twenty-four braccia; and from there to the top the material must be
brick, or rather, spongestone, according to the decision of the
builder, who must make the work as light as he is able. A passage must
be made on the outside above the windows, forming a gallery below, with
an open parapet two braccia in height, proportionately to those of the
little tribunes below; or rather, two passages, one above the other,
resting on a richly adorned cornice, with the upper passage uncovered.
The rain water must flow from the cupola into a gutter of marble, a
third of a braccio wide, and must run off through outlets made of
hard-stone below the gutter. Eight ribs of marble must be made at the
angles in the outer surface of the cupola, of such thickness as may be
required, rising one braccio above the cupola, with a cornice above by
way of roof, two braccia wide, to serve as gable and eaves to the whole;
and these ribs must rise pyramidically from their base up to the summit.
The two vaults of the cupola must be built in the manner described
above, without framework, up to the height of thirty braccia, and from
that point upwards in the manner recommended by those masters who will
have the building of them, since practice teaches us what course to
pursue."
Filippo, having finished writing all that is above, went in the morning
to the tribunal and gave them that paper, which they studied from end to
end. And although they could not grasp it all, yet, seeing the readiness
of Filippo's mind, and perceiving that not one of the other architects
had better ground to stand on--for he showed a manifest confidence in
his speech, ever repeating the same thing in such wise that it appeared
certain that he had raised ten cupolas--the Consuls, drawing aside, were
minded to give him the work, saying only that they would have liked to
see something to show how this cupola could be raised without framework,
for they approved of everything else. To this desire fortune was
favourable, for Bartolommeo Barbadori having previously resolved to have
a chapel built in S. Felicita and having spoken of this to Filippo, the
latter had put his hand to the work and had caused that chapel to be
vaulted without framework, at the right hand of the entrance into the
church, where the holy-water basin is, also made by his hand. In those
days, likewise, he caused another to be vaulted beside the Chapel of the
High Altar in S. Jacopo sopra Arno, for Stiatta Ridolfi; and these works
were the means of bringing him more credit than his words. And so the
Consuls and the Wardens of Works, being assured by the writing and by
the work that they had seen, gave him the commission for the cupola,
making him principal superintendent by the vote with the beans. But they
did not contract with him for more than twelve braccia of the whole
height, saying to him that they wished to see how the work succeeded,
and that if it succeeded as well as he promised they would not fail to
commission him to do the rest. It appeared a strange thing to Filippo to
see so great obstinacy and distrust in the Consuls and Wardens, and, if
it had not been that he knew himself to be the only man capable of
executing the work, he would not have put his hand to it. However,
desiring to gain the glory of its construction, he undertook it, and
pledged himself to bring it to perfect completion. His written statement
was copied into a book wherein the provveditore kept the accounts of the
debtors and creditors for wood and marble, together with the aforesaid
pledge; and they undertook to make him the same allowance of money as
they had given up to then to the other superintendents.
The commission given to Filippo becoming known among the craftsmen and
the citizens, some thought well of it and others ill, as it has ever
been the case with the opinions of the populace, of the thoughtless, and
of the envious. The while that the preparations for beginning to build
were being made, a faction was formed among craftsmen and citizens, and
they appeared before the Consuls and the Wardens, saying that there had
been too much haste in the matter, and that such a work as this should
not be carried out by the counsel of one man alone; that they might be
pardoned for this if they had been suffering from a dearth of excellent
masters, whereas they had them in abundance; and that it was not likely
to do credit to the city, because, if some accident were to happen, as
is wont to come to pass sometimes in buildings, they might be blamed, as
persons who had laid too great a charge on one man, without considering
the loss and the shame that might result to the public interest;
wherefore it would be well to give Filippo a companion, in order to
restrain his rashness.
Now Lorenzo Ghiberti had come into great repute, by reason of having
formerly given proof of his genius in the doors of S. Giovanni; and that
he was beloved by certain men who were very powerful in the Government
was proved clearly enough, since, seeing the glory of Filippo waxing so
great, they wrought on the Consuls and the Wardens so strongly, under
the pretext of love and affection towards that building, that he was
united to Filippo as his colleague in the work. How great were the
despair and the bitterness of Filippo, on hearing what the Wardens had
done, may be seen from this, that he was minded to fly from Florence;
and if it had not been for Donato and Luca della Robbia, who comforted
him, he would have lost his reason. Truly impious and cruel is the rage
of those who, blinded by envy, put into peril the honours and the
beautiful works of others in their jealous emulation! It was no fault of
theirs, in truth, that Filippo did not break his models into pieces,
burn his designs, and throw away in less than half an hour all that
labour which had occupied him for so many years. The Wardens at first
made excuses to Filippo and exhorted him to proceed, saying that he
himself and no other was the inventor and the creator of so noble a
building; but at the same time they gave the same salary to Lorenzo as
to Filippo. The work was pursued with little willingness on the part of
Filippo, who saw that he must endure the labours that it entailed, and
must then divide the honour and the fame equally with Lorenzo. Making up
his mind, however, that he would find means to prevent Lorenzo from
continuing very long in the work, he went on pursuing it in company with
him, in the manner suggested by the writing given to the Wardens.
Meanwhile, there arose in the mind of Filippo the idea of making such a
model as had not yet been made; wherefore, having put his hand to this,
he had it wrought by one Bartolommeo, a carpenter, who lived near the
Studio. In this model, which had all the exact proportions measured to
scale, he made all the difficult parts, such as staircases both lighted
and dark, and every sort of window, door, tie, and buttress, together
with a part of the gallery. Lorenzo, hearing of this, wished to see it,
but Filippo refused to let him, whereupon he flew into a rage and
ordered another model to be made for himself, to the end that he might
not appear to be drawing his salary for nothing and to be of no account
in the work. With regard to these models, Filippo was paid fifty lire
and fifteen soldi for his, as we see from an order in the book of
Migliore di Tommaso, dated October 3, 1419, whereas three hundred lire
are entered as paid to Lorenzo Ghiberti for the labour and expense of
his model, more in consequence of the friendship and favour that he
enjoyed than of any profit or need that the building had of it.
This torment lasted before the eyes of Filippo until 1426, the friends
of Lorenzo calling him the inventor equally with Filippo; and this
annoyance disturbed the mind of Filippo so greatly that he was living in
the utmost restlessness. Now, having thought of various new devices, he
determined to rid himself entirely of Lorenzo, recognizing that he was
of little account in the work. Filippo had already raised the cupola
right round, what with the one vault and the other, to the height of
twelve braccia, and he had now to place upon them the ties both of stone
and of wood; and as this was a difficult matter, he wished to discuss it
with Lorenzo, in order to see if he had considered this difficulty. And
he found Lorenzo so far from having thought of such a matter, that he
replied that he referred it to Filippo as the inventor. Lorenzo's answer
pleased Filippo, since it appeared to him that this was the way to get
him removed from the work, and to prove that he did not possess that
intelligence which was claimed for him by his friends, and to expose the
favour that had placed him in that position. Now the masons engaged on
the work were at a standstill, waiting to be told to begin the part
above the twelve braccia, and to make the vaults and bind them with
ties. Having begun the drawing in of the cupola towards the top, it was
necessary for them to make the scaffoldings, to the end that the masons
and their labourers might be able to work without danger, seeing that
the height was such that merely looking down brought fear and terror
into the stoutest heart. The masons and the other master-builders were
standing waiting for directions as to the ties and the scaffoldings;
and since no decision was made either by Lorenzo or by Filippo, there
arose a murmuring among the masons and the other master-builders, who
saw no signs of the solicitude that had been shown before; and because,
being poor people, they lived by the work of their hands, and suspected
that neither one nor the other of the architects had enough courage to
carry the work any further, they went about the building occupying
themselves, to the best of their knowledge and power, with filling up
and finishing all that had as yet been built.
One morning Filippo did not appear at the work, but bound up his head
and went to bed, and caused plates and cloths to be heated with great
solicitude, groaning continually and pretending to be suffering from
colic. The master-builders, who were standing waiting for orders as to
what they were to do, on hearing this, asked Lorenzo what they were to
go on with: but he replied that it was for Filippo to give orders, and
that they must wait for him. There was one who said, "What, dost thou
not know his mind?" "Yes," answered Lorenzo, "but I would do nothing
without him"; and this he said to excuse himself, because, not having
seen the model of Filippo, and having never asked him what method he
intended to follow, he would never commit himself in talking of the
matter, in order not to appear ignorant, and would always make a
double-edged answer, the more so as he knew that he was employed in the
work against the will of Filippo. The illness of the latter having
already lasted for more than two days, the provveditore and many of the
master-masons went to see him and asked him repeatedly to tell them what
they were to do. And he replied, "You have Lorenzo, let him do
something"; nor could they get another word out of him. Whereupon, this
becoming known, there arose discussions and very adverse judgments with
regard to the work: some saying that Filippo had gone to bed in his
vexation at finding that he had not the courage to raise the cupola, and
that he was repenting of having meddled with the matter; while his
friends defended him, saying that his anger, if anger it was, came from
the outrage of having been given Lorenzo as colleague, but that his real
trouble was colic, caused by fatiguing himself overmuch at the work.
Now, while this noise was going on, the building was at a standstill,
and almost all the work of the masons and stone-cutters was suspended;
and they murmured against Lorenzo, saying, "He is good enough at drawing
the salary, but as for directing the work, not a bit of it! If we had
not Filippo, or if he were ill for long, what would the other do? Is it
Filippo's fault that he is ill?" The Wardens of Works, seeing themselves
disgraced by this state of things, determined to go and find Filippo;
and after arriving and sympathizing with him first about his illness,
they told him in how great confusion the building stood and what
troubles his illness had brought upon them. Whereupon Filippo, speaking
with great heat both under the cloak of illness and from love of the
work, replied, "Is not that Lorenzo there? Can he do nothing? And I
marvel at you as well." Then the Wardens answered, "He will do naught
without thee"; and Filippo retorted, "But I could do well without him."
This retort, so acute and double-edged, was enough for them, and they
went their way, convinced that Filippo was ill from nothing but the
desire to work alone. They sent his friends, therefore, to get him out
of bed, with the intention of removing Lorenzo from the work. Wherefore
Filippo returned to the building, but, seeing that Lorenzo was still
strongly favoured and that he would have his salary without any labour
whatsoever, he thought of another method whereby he might disgrace him
and demonstrate conclusively his little knowledge in that profession;
and he made the following discourse to the Wardens in the presence of
Lorenzo: "My Lords the Wardens of Works, if the time that is lent to us
to live were as surely ours as the certainty of dying, there is no doubt
whatsoever that many things which are begun would be completed instead
of remaining unfinished. The accident of this sickness from which I have
suffered might have cut short my life and put a stop to the work;
wherefore I have thought of a plan whereby, if I should ever fall sick
again, or Lorenzo, which God forbid, one or the other may be able to
pursue his part of the work. Even as your Lordships have divided the
salary between us, let the work also be divided, to the end that each of
us, being spurred to show his knowledge, may be confident of acquiring
honour and profit from our Republic. Now there are two most difficult
things which have to be put into execution at the present time: one
is the making of the scaffoldings to enable the masons to do their work,
which have to be used both within and without the building, where they
must support men, stones, and lime, and sustain the crane for lifting
weights, with other instruments of that kind; the other is the chain of
ties which has to be placed above the twelve braccia, surrounding and
binding together the eight sides of the cupola, and clamping the fabric
together, so that it may bind and secure all the weight that is laid
above, in such a manner that the weight may not force it out or stretch
it, and that the whole structure may rest firmly on its own basis. Let
Lorenzo, then, take one of these two works, whichever he may think
himself best able to execute; and I will undertake to accomplish the
other without difficulty, to the end that no more time may be lost."
Hearing this, Lorenzo was forced for the sake of his honour to accept
one of these tasks, and, although he did it very unwillingly, he
resolved to take the chain of ties, as being the easier, relying on the
advice of the masons and on the remembrance that in the vaulting of S.
Giovanni in Florence there was a chain of stone ties, wherefrom he might
take a part of the design, if not the whole. And so one put his hand to
the scaffoldings and the other to the ties, and each carried out his
work. The scaffoldings of Filippo were made with so great ingenuity and
industry, that the very opposite opinion was held in this matter to that
which many had previously conceived, for the builders stood on them,
working and drawing up weights, as securely as if they had been on the
surface of the ground; and the models of the said scaffoldings were
preserved in the Office of Works. Lorenzo had the chain of ties made on
one of the eight sides with the greatest difficulty; and when it was
finished, the Wardens caused Filippo to look at it. To them he said
nothing, but he discoursed thereon with some of his friends, saying that
it was necessary to have some form of fastening different from that one,
and to apply it in a better manner than had been done, and that it was
not strong enough to withstand the weight that was to be laid above, for
it did not bind the masonry together firmly enough; adding that the
supplies given to Lorenzo, as well as the chain that he had caused to be
made, had been simply thrown away. The opinion of Filippo became known,
and he was charged to show what was the best way of making such a
chain. Whereupon, having already made designs and models, he immediately
showed them, and when they had been seen by the Wardens and the other
masters, it was recognized into what great error they had fallen by
favouring Lorenzo; and wishing to atone for this error and to show that
they knew what was good, they made Filippo overseer and superintendent
of the whole fabric for life, saying that nothing should be done in that
work without his command. And as a proof of approbation they gave him
one hundred florins, decreed by the Consuls and Wardens under date of
August 13, 1423, by the hand of Lorenzo Paoli, notary to the Office of
Works, and under the name of Gherardo di Messer Filippo Corsini; and
they voted him an allowance of one hundred florins a year as a provision
for life. Wherefore, giving orders for the building to be pushed on, he
pursued it with such scrupulous care and so great attention, that not a
stone could be put into place without his having wished to see it.
Lorenzo, on the other hand, finding himself vanquished, and, as it were,
put to shame, was favoured and assisted by his friends so powerfully
that he went on drawing his salary, claiming that he could not be
dismissed until three years had passed.
[Illustration: THE DOME OF THE CATHEDRAL
(_After_ Filippo Brunelleschi. _Florence_)
_Alinari_]
Filippo was for ever making, on the slightest occasion, designs and
models of stages for the builders and of machines for lifting weights.
But this did not prevent certain malicious persons, friends of Lorenzo,
from putting Filippo into despair by spending their whole time in making
models in opposition to his, insomuch that some were made by one Maestro
Antonio da Verzelli and other favoured masters, and were brought into
notice now by one citizen and now by another, demonstrating their
inconstancy, their little knowledge, and their even smaller
understanding, since, having perfection in their grasp, they brought
forward the imperfect and the useless.
The ties were now finished right round the eight sides, and the masons,
being encouraged, were labouring valiantly; but being pressed more than
usual by Filippo, and resenting certain reprimands received with regard
to the building and other things that were happening every day, they had
conceived a grievance against him. Wherefore, moved by this and by
envy, the foremen leagued themselves together into a faction and
declared that the work was laborious and dangerous, and that they would
not build the cupola without great payment--although their pay had been
raised higher than usual--thinking in this way to take vengeance on
Filippo and to gain profit for themselves. This affair displeased the
Wardens and also Filippo, who, having pondered over it, made up his mind
one Saturday evening to dismiss them all. They, seeing themselves
dismissed and not knowing how the matter would end, were very evilly
disposed; but on the following Monday Filippo set ten Lombards to work,
and by standing ever over them and saying, "Do this here," and, "Do that
there," he taught them so much in one day that they worked there for
many weeks. The masons, on the other hand, seeing themselves dismissed,
deprived of their work, and thus disgraced, and having no work as
profitable as this, sent mediators to Filippo, saying that they would
willingly return, and recommending themselves to him as much as they
were able. Filippo kept them for many days in suspense as to his
willingness to take them back; then he reinstated them at lower wages
than they had before; and thus where they thought to gain they lost, and
in taking vengeance on Filippo they brought harm and disgrace on
themselves.
The murmurings were now silenced, and meanwhile, on seeing that building
being raised so readily, men had come to recognize the genius of
Filippo; and it was already held by those who were not prejudiced that
he had shown such courage as perchance no ancient or modern architect
had shown in his works. This came to pass because he brought out his
model, wherein all could see how much thought he had given to the
planning of the staircases and of the lights both within and without, in
order that no one might be injured in the darkness by reason of fear,
and how many diverse balusters of iron he had placed where the ascent
was steep, for the staircases, arranging them with much consideration.
Besides this, he had even thought of the irons for fixing scaffoldings
within, in case mosaics or paintings had ever to be wrought there; and
in like manner, by placing the different kinds of water-conduits, some
covered and some uncovered, in the least dangerous positions, and by
duly accompanying these with holes and diverse apertures, to the end
that the force of the winds might be broken and that neither exhalations
nor the tremblings of the earth might be able to do any harm, he showed
how great assistance he had received from his studies during the many
years that he stayed in Rome. And in addition, when men considered what
he had done in the way of dove-tailing, joining, fixing, and binding
together the stones, it made them marvel and tremble to think that one
single mind should have been capable of all that the mind of Filippo had
proved itself able to execute. So greatly did his powers continue to
increase that there was nothing, however difficult and formidable, that
he did not render easy and simple; and this he showed in the lifting of
weights by means of counterweights and wheels, so that one ox could
raise what six pairs could scarcely have raised before.
The building had now risen to such a height that it was a very great
inconvenience for anyone who had climbed to the top to descend to the
ground, and the builders lost much time in going to eat and drink, and
suffered great discomfort in the heat of the day. Filippo therefore made
arrangements for eating-houses with kitchens to be opened on the cupola,
and for wine to be sold there, so that no one had to leave his labour
until the evening, which was convenient for the men and very
advantageous for the work. Seeing the work making great progress and
succeeding so happily, Filippo had grown so greatly in courage that he
was continually labouring, going in person to the furnaces where the
bricks were being shaped and demanding to see the clay and to feel its
consistency, and insisting on selecting them with his own hand when
baked, with the greatest diligence. When the stonecutters were working
at the stones, he would look at them to see if they showed flaws and if
they were hard, and he would give the men models in wood or wax, or[19]
made simply out of turnips; and he would also make iron tools for the
smiths. He invented hinges with heads, and hinge-hooks, and he did much
to facilitate architecture, which was certainly brought by him to a
perfection such as it probably had never enjoyed among the Tuscans.
[Footnote 19: To make this passage intelligible, the word "or" has been
added in the later editions.]
In the year 1423 the greatest possible happiness and rejoicing were
prevailing in Florence, when Filippo was chosen as one of the Signori
for the quarter of San Giovanni, for May and June, Lapo Niccolini being
chosen as Gonfalonier of Justice for the quarter of Santa Croce. And if
he is found registered in the Priorista as "Filippo di Ser Brunellesco
Lippi," no one need marvel, seeing that he was called thus after his
grandfather Lippo, and not "de' Lapi," as he should have been; which
method is seen from the said Priorista to have been used in innumerable
other cases, as is well known to all who have seen it or who know the
custom of those times. Filippo exercised that office and also other
magisterial functions that he obtained in his city, wherein he ever bore
himself with most profound judgment.