Filippo brunelleschi architectural structures. Florentine architecture genius

Filippo Brunelleschi was born in 1377, in Florence, Italy (Florence, Italy), where his main surviving works are now kept. Scant information about his early life is presented only in the writings of Antonio Manetti and Giorgio Vasari.

His father, Brunelleschi di Lippo, was a notary, and his mother was named Juliana Spini. Filippo was the middle of three children. He was taught literature and mathematics, preparing to follow in his father's footsteps - to become a cog in the state apparatus. However, the young man joined the Arte della Seta, the silk guild, and by 1389 became a goldsmith.

In 1401, Brunelleschi participated in the Arte di Calimala competition to create new decorations for two bronze gates for a baptistery in Florence. Each of the seven contestants presented their bronze relief on the theme of "The Sacrifice of Isaac." The winner was Lorenzo Ghiberti, whose work won in terms of technical prowess. Ghiberti used one piece in the work, while Brunelleschi used several pieces fixed on a plate, and the relief of the latter weighed 7 kg more.

Not much is known about how Brunelleschi switched from precious metals to architecture. Having experienced the bitterness of defeat at Arta di Calimala, Filippo arrived in Rome, where he probably scrupulously studied ancient sculpture. During this period, Donatello was next to him. Staying in the Italian capital for several years, apparently in 1402-1404, both masters organized excavations of ancient ruins. The influence of ancient Roman authors can be traced in the works of both Filippo and Donatello.

According to biographers, Brunelleschi made a wooden Crucifix in Florence's main Dominican church, Santa Maria Novella, as part of a friendly dispute with Donatello.

In 1419, Arte della Seta commissioned Brunelleschi to build the Ospedale degli Innocenti, an orphanage for children. The architect abandoned marble and decorative inserts, but freely approached the interpretation of antique forms. The arcades of the loggia of the house turned out to be opened towards the square of the Most Holy Annunciation. A row of columns in the corners received a pilaster with an epistelion stretching over all the arches. The rhythm of the columns was "calmed" by majolica medallions depicting swaddled babies.

Despite the fact that Brunelleschi copied many things from Roman samples, his works, from the point of view of the entire architecture of the Renaissance, are considered the most "Greek". It is worth noting that he simply could not be familiar with the architecture of Greece (Greece).

After arriving in Florence, Filippo was given a difficult engineering challenge. He was required to erect the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. The Gothic octahedral lancet vault itself was not easy, but additional difficulties were caused by the construction of special devices necessary for carrying out work at height.

A technical and mathematical genius, Brunelleschi told the Florentine council that he was ready to make a light dome out of stone and brick. The structure was prefabricated - it consisted of edge-lobes; for fastening from above, an architectural element in the form of a lantern was required. Brunelleschi also volunteered to make some unusual mechanisms for high-rise work.

Towards the end of 1418, a team of four bricklayers presented a model of the dome to demonstrate how the original would be erected without solid formwork. The original octahedron, which defined the characteristic silhouette of Florence, turned out to be 42 m in diameter and consisted of two shells. The majestic pointed vault was consecrated by Pope Eugenius IV.

During serious construction, Filippo tried to ensure that the workers did not leave their places during breaks. He personally delivered them food and diluted wine to the height. Thus, at that time, usually only pregnant women were treated. The architect believed that the ups and downs of workers would drain them and reduce labor productivity.

Brunelleschi was one of the first to receive patents for inventions; in his case - on the lifts. He was also granted the first modern patent for a river transport vessel invented by him. He excelled in mathematics, engineering, and the study of ancient monuments. Brunelleschi invented hydraulic equipment and complex clockwork, but none of this has survived to our times.

In 1427, Filippo rebuilt the huge ship Il Badalone to transport marble to Florence from Pisa up the Arno River. The ship sank on its first voyage, along with Brunelleschi's considerable fortune.

Brunelleschi is credited with inventing (or rediscovering) direct perspective, which revolutionized painting and paved the way for naturalistic trends. Among other things, Filippo was involved in urban planning. He was responsible for the strategic location of several of his buildings - in relation to nearby squares and streets - and sought "maximum visibility."

For example, in 1433, the demolition of buildings in front of San Lorenzo was authorized in order to create a market square overlooking this church on the vacated site. For the church of Santo Spirito, Brunelleschi suggested placing the façade either towards the Arno River to delight travelers, or to the north, facing a large, ready-to-build piazza.

A crater on Mercury is named after the architect.

Brunelleschi
nivel 2006-12-02 18:23:24

Quite an interesting article. Only in some publications did I find not Brunelleschi, but Brunelleschi.

The first historiographer of the Renaissance Giorgio
Vasari writes that Brunelleschi was
to people who “have a spirit,
full of such greatness, and a heart
filled with such immeasurable daring,
what they never found in life
calming themselves until they take up those
things are difficult and almost impossible and not
will bring them to the end to the wonder of those who
contemplates ... "

The era of the Early Renaissance, otherwise - Quattrocento, amazes with its rebellious progressiveness and incredible beauty. This trend covered the art of several Mediterranean countries, but was most clearly expressed in, where the chronological framework of Quattrocento includes the period from 1420 to 1500. Italy, part of the Holy Roman Empire, has finally gathered strength for a full-scale cultural revival after the tragic fall of Rome at the hands of the barbarians in 476. The main features of this period are numerous innovations in art, which radically changed the previous Romanesque, Gothic and Byzantine tastes and caused a powerful rise in art of all kinds: painting, architecture, sculpture. The main feature was the appeal of the masters to the ancient classics, its processing in line with new ideas, the rejection of the old principles and the return to the order system of Greco-Roman architecture, the introduction of the rules of direct perspective and proportions, which correlated with the real dimensions of a person. A similar transition in art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance took place very quickly, in one generation. This was facilitated by the help of patrons, among whom were the popes and representatives of various aristocratic and merchant families, for example, the Medici. They literally competed with each other for the right to invite this or that master to create a masterpiece in their city.

Filippo Brunelleschi was a complex man
character. With his sharp tongue he acquired
both friends and enemies. It is known that when
he saw Donatello's wooden Crucifix,
threw a short phrase that became an aphorism:
"Peasant on the Cross"

The flourishing of the arts was prepared by the growing humanism in Europe, which revealed unprecedented creative and scientific possibilities of man. Art finally ceased to be anonymous and brought the names of geniuses and titans into the arena of history. The discoveries in all spheres of human activity, made at this time, without any exaggeration, continue to have a huge impact on world culture, nourishing it.

Filippo Brunelleschi (Italian Filippo Brunelleschi (Brunellesco), 1377-1446) - the greatest architect of the Early Renaissance, a genius of his time and his native city of Florence. Thanks to him and some other masters, the Florentine Republic took a prominent place among the competing regions and cities of Italy and led new movements in art in the central part of it, while the north of the country was still very conservative. The appeal to the ancient heritage in the artistic environment of Florence coincided in time with the passion of the humanists for Roman architecture. This is proved by the numerous works of Colucchi Salutati - the author of treatises, which consistently revealed the program of the Renaissance culture. He believed that true knowledge is not given by medieval scholasticism, but by ancient wisdom. In one of his creations, he praises Florence for its antiquity (the city was founded in Roman times), as well as for having its own Capitol, Forum and Temple of Mars. The latter was taken as the Florentine baptistery, which was allegedly rebuilt by Christians into a church. Salutati also mentions that an equestrian statue of Mars stood on Pont Vecchio until the first third of the 14th century, and that the city retains the remains of an aqueduct, round towers and fortifications. Brunelleschi could not have been unaware of these ancient monuments of his hometown, and they undoubtedly inspired him, formed the creative repertoire of the architect's techniques and motives.

The name "Florence" comes from the Latin
"Florentia", which means "blooming". The founders
wished their city prosperity that
and came true in the Renaissance. Already since
since Dante's time, Florence was the undisputed
the center of the cultural life of Italy. Big
the city became famous for its picturesque
works by Giotto

The main work of Brunelleschi, which has become a symbol of the entire era, is the grandiose dome of the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, which is still the dominant feature of the city. But along with him, the master erected several more important city buildings, both church and secular. The range of his activities and interests was not limited to architecture. Truly a Renaissance man, he showed talent in a wide variety of fields: as a sculptor, as a scientist, as an engineer, as a screenwriter and even as a writer of short verses. Preserved "Novella about Grasso" by Antonio Manetti, where Brunelleschi acts as one of the main characters. This is an unusually vivid story of street scenes set against the backdrop of the baptistery and the main cathedral of Florence, giving a vivid picture of Filippo's character, inventive and playful. It is surprising that the master turned directly to architecture rather late: at the age of about 40 years. But it must be remembered that at that time the profession usually passed "by inheritance" from father to son, from the age of 12-13 the boys were attached to workshops, and their field of activity was determined in advance until the end of days. In addition, there is a possibility that he was engaged in architecture before, just outside Florence or even Italy (although there is no confirmation of this).

Several biographical sketches have survived about Filippo Brunelleschi. One of them belongs to Antonio di Tuccio Manetti, who met with the architect during his lifetime. There was a huge age difference between them, and if the meeting really took place, then Brunelleschi was then already a deep old man, and Manetti was a 20-year-old youth who began his career in art. Antonio's literary work was written after the death of the architect (released in 1462), which makes researchers doubt the authenticity of all the events described in it. The second source is included in the famous series of "Biographies" by Giorgio Vasari and largely repeats Manetti's essay, including his various inaccuracies and errors, which are verified by modern researchers using archival documents. But compared to earlier anonymous eras, such literary sources, describing the lives of prominent people of the era in detail, are a huge success. The difficulty of restoring the creative path of Brunelleschi lies in the fact that neither graphic documents, nor drawings, nor architectural models (except for one), which the master could use during his work, have survived. Although, according to the researchers, he always pre-designed buildings, following the established principles of the architects of his time (Filarete, Bernardo Rossellino, Leon Alberti). His creative method was to use the column diameter as a module, and the plan was built on the basis of a square. The height of the columns and pilasters depended on the diameter of the trunk, the height of the arch depended on the width of the intercolumnia, etc. With this approach, the parts of each building became proportional and subordinate, which gave the buildings artistic integrity and monumentality. But unlike our time, the era of Brunelleschi did not yet know plans and drawings with exact designations of sizes (this appeared after 1470). Therefore, the work still largely remained intuitive, man-made, required the active participation of the architect himself in the construction process, his considerable engineering abilities and sometimes the knowledge and skills of a bricklayer. The construction of the building was a lively and organic process. A good master continuously monitored the construction, directed the work of the stonemasons "verbally", showing them the drawings necessary for this or that stage. Perhaps this is one of the secrets of Brunelleschi's work and explains the highest quality of all his buildings. This level was not reached by any of his followers, who tried to erect buildings according to the master's drawings. Recognizable features of Brunelleschi's style are the repeated use of Corinthian pilasters with chapelled trunks, arched lintels with a clear articulation of forms, and the frequent use of medallions with images. In its buildings, there are no intense light contrasts and strict, cold verticals, so characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Brunelleschi's style gravitates towards soft, calm and even lines, a balanced ratio of horizontal and vertical rhythms. It is distinguished by an incredibly refined and refined Roman taste in details and proportions.

churches of Santa Felice

From the history of Filippo's life, we know that he was born into a wealthy family of the notary Brunelleschi di Lippo Lappi in 1377. His mother, Giuliana Spini, was of noble birth and was associated with the noble Italian Aldobrandini family. The family lived all their life in the Spini family estate on the corner of Piazza degli Agli, later the house passed to Filippo. Unlike other Florentine artists, most often from a less wealthy artisan environment (Donatello, Bruni, Ghiberti), Brunelleschi was financially independent, since at that time notaries were an influential force that determined many political processes in the city. His father held a prominent position and, as a confidant of the "Council of Ten" (an emergency commission), made diplomatic trips to neighboring states. One episode from the youthful period of Filippo's life is worthy of mention: in October 1367, his father participated in the commission to discuss the next project of the dome of the unfinished Florentine cathedral, for which the wealthiest citizens of the city were invited. This probably left an imprint in the memory of Brunelleschi, who since then knew about the existence of a problem that was in the center of attention of the city public.

In his youth, carried away by all kinds
Brunelleschi's inventions made
clock and alarms, by yourself
earning money for travel. One day
he struck the Florentines with the hardest
the construction of the sky for the mystery in
churches of Santa Felice

Filippo had the opportunity to receive the best humanistic upbringing and education at that time, and the most brilliant prospects opened up for him. As a child, he studied Latin and ancient authors, which was the basis for the development of his future interests and tastes: gravitation towards the Roman past as a "golden age" and rejection of "barbaric" art, which during the Renaissance meant everything medieval. Excellent knowledge of Dante's creations helped Brunelleschi to understand the spirit of his native Florence, to comprehend it not just at the level of a connoisseur. In addition, he was interested in mathematics, studied military and industrial machines. With his abilities in geometry, he surprised even Paolo Toscanelli, a friend of the Brunelleschi family and a famous scientist who influenced such famous figures of the era as Nikolai of Cusansky, Regiomontan and Leon Alberti.

Contrary to the expectations of the family, Filippo did not follow in his father's footsteps and abandoned a lucrative career as a notary. In 1392, that is, at the age of 15, he insisted that he be taught to the goldsmith Benincas Lotti in Pistoia. In 1398 he was admitted to the workshop of silk-spinners, which also included jewelers, but only in 1404 Brunelleschi received the title of master and the first order for the manufacture of a silver crucifix for the altar of the Church of St. James in Pistoia, which he coped well with. Also at the time of his work as a jeweler belong two half-figures of the prophets (in quadrifolios) and two figures of the church fathers (Ambrose and Augustine). It is no coincidence that the master initially turns to sculptural creativity: it is in this form of art that new trends appeared earlier than in others. In his first works, the Gothic influence is still felt, but at the same time the fracture and dryness of the forms are already being overcome and their delicate finishing is revealed, the gravitation towards simple and monumental forms, towards expressive gestures.

Filippo mastered several types of art: drawing, modeling, engraving, sculpture and painting. Feeling confident in his abilities, he decides to take part in the work of a rather serious level. He becomes one of the contenders for the decoration of the second doors of the Giovanni Baptistery in Florence (the first ones have already been decorated by Andrea Pisano). The competition was organized in 1401. The city commune carefully prepared for this event. After a rigorous selection, the commission selected seven masters: a follower of the Gothic style of Niccolodi Piero Lamberti, the famous Siena Jacopo della Quercia, his compatriot and student Francesco Valdambrino, the Aretinian Niccolo da Luca Spinelli, the little-known Simone da Collegi Val d'Elsa and Filippo Lorenzo. It is noteworthy that most of the masters, except for the last two, gravitated towards the Gothic style. Among the participants, Brunelleschi was the youngest artist along with Lorenzo Ghiberti. The other five have already gained fame and honor, especially Jacopo della Quercia. The merchants' guild allocated funds for which the craftsmen were supported for a year and a half while they were working on their reliefs. The theme was set for all one: "The Sacrifice of Abraham." It was stipulated that the composition must necessarily be framed in a quadrifolium, that is, in the same shape as on the already existing bronze doors of the baptistery. As a result, it was Brunelleschi and Ghiberti who fought for the first place, and Filippo lost in this competition. It is believed that Ghiberti's victory was the result of intrigue in the commission. One legend tells that both craftsmen were asked to split the work equally. But Brunelleschi refused and handed over the entire order to Ghiberti. It should be admitted that Brunelleschi's bronze relief was indeed less perfect in terms of composition and expressiveness. He was heavier than Ghiberti by 7 kilograms. Fortunately, it has been preserved as a historical evidence of the competition (National Museum, Florence). But, despite the fact that Brunelleschi hardly accepted the defeat, and the complex, competitive relationship with Ghiberti remained for many decades, this failure became, one might say, the lucky star of the master. It was after her that he went to Rome with his friend Donatello, where they spent many years exploring ancient monuments, including the famous Pantheon and its dome, which became the basis for Filippo's main work. Brunelleschi is fond of architecture, and Donatello is interested in sculpture. The first trip was followed by others. It is known that Brunelleschi paid for the excavation costs himself, earning money as a jewelry craft. For several years Brunelleschi studied the archeology of Rome in detail and scrupulously, becoming the author of one of the first works on Roman architecture, which was supplied with his own reconstructions. According to Manetti, Filippo studied "methods of superior proportions and how, with ease and low cost, they could do everything without flaws." It was this experience of living work with ancient monuments and, possibly, the study of pro-Renaissance buildings in Tuscany that crystallized the creative personality and style of Brunelleschi. In his subsequent works, one will always feel fluency in the technique and techniques of Roman architecture, knowledge of its order system and proportional order. And a similar method of studying the heritage of the once fallen Roman Empire and recreating new works of art on its basis will form the basis of the entire Renaissance.

The story told by Vasari is widely known: Brunelleschi, hearing about the ancient sarcophagus in the city of Cortona, “in what he was, in a cloak, a hood and wooden shoes, without telling where he was going ... went on foot to Cortona, drawn by desire and love, which he was fond of art. "

Recently, researchers have doubted that Brunelleschi was in Rome at the beginning of the 15th century, suggesting that the trip was made later, in the 30s, when work was already underway on the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Exactly the same doubts are expressed about the new discovery of the laws of linear perspective, which is attributed to Filippo. According to Manetti, in 1425 Brunelleschi painted two vedis using this method and using a special device like a camera obscura: one depicting the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the other a view of the Piazza della Signoria. We can only judge about the existence of these landscapes by documents. Therefore, many consider the first works of this kind to be the work of Masaccio for the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, also made according to the rules of direct perspective. However, Brunelleschi's persistent attribution of the discovery of the laws of linear perspective is hardly groundless, as pointed out by the historian Averlino Filarete in his architectural treatise of 1461. It is even possible that the architectural motif in the form of a cessonal vault in Masaccio's painting belongs to Brunelleschi's brush.

According to the testimony of the storytellers, the maestro was not distinguished by a docile character. He was small in stature and nondescript in appearance, but at the same time he was integral both as an artist and as a person, and was a continuous bundle of energy, with tremendous willpower, thanks to which he worked very fruitfully. After himself, he left a substantial inheritance to his adopted son Andrea Cavalcanti, but with all his wealth Brunelleschi led the life of a non-covetous person and willingly helped his friends at their first request.

Many note that, despite all of the above, his reputation in the early 1410s in Florence was still rather strange and controversial. On the one hand, he was already known as a scientist, skilled in various mechanical effects, and on the other, as a dreamer who did not confirm his skills with real creations, at least in his hometown. Gerardo Guardi called him a talented dilettante, wasting his skills on "devilish optical illusions." Such an opinion about him sheds light on the difficult situation in the competition for the construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in 1418. There is a legend that the rulers of the city decided to erect a dome over the cathedral and organized a competition of architects, where each presented his own project. The most beautiful and majestic dome was Brunelleschi. But everyone began to express doubts about the possibility of its construction - it was so huge. Brunelleschi was asked to reveal his secrets. He replied: "Let the one who manages to put the egg upright on the marble board build the dome." Many have tried and, naturally, nothing came of it. Then Brunelleschi hit the egg on the marble board and made it stand. Everyone made a noise, but Filippo replied laughing that he would be able to build the dome and there were already drawings for this. So he received an order for the construction.

Filippo worked on all of his major works almost simultaneously, fulfilling them on a tight schedule. In the years 1419-1420, he began to build the Orphanage and the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. Around 1420, that is, when there was a particularly heated debate about how to erect the dome of the Florentine cathedral, Brunelleschi built two chapels - in Sant Jacopo Soprarno (not preserved) and in Santa Felicita (greatly rebuilt at a later time). In the opinion of Manetti and Vasari, in these chapels Filippo tried to show in practice his capabilities in the construction of large domes and without the use of bulky scaffolding. The master also designs the Barbadori chapel at this time and begins its construction, but it was not completed due to the bankruptcy of the customer. Subsequently, the chapel was greatly changed in relation to the original concept.

Soon, he began work on the sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo, and then rebuild the entire church as a whole. In 1424 Brunelleschi reconstructed the city walls, and in 1427-1430 he built the Pazzi Chapel.

The client of this small family chapel, which was supposed to simultaneously serve as a chapel hall, was a wealthy merchant from the old aristocratic family Andrea Pazzi. Then, with small annual intervals, several more not such large-scale projects are carried out.

Manetti also reports that Brunelleschi rebuilt a house for his relative Apollonio Lapi, which became "expedient, comfortable and pleasant." Brunelleschi's involvement in secular buildings is rarely documented, although it is clear that it was active. Filippo's only undoubted work in the field of civil engineering remains the Palazzo of the Guelph Party, the project of which was completed around 1420. The customer was the Guelph Party, once a powerful political organization, but by the time of Brunelleschi had already lost most of its influence. The intrigue was that the Guelphs decided to build a palazzo that would demonstrate the strength that the party no longer possessed. As a result, the palace was erected, but the construction and decoration were delayed until 1452 due to the complete lack of assistance from the authorities.

Referring to Vasari, Brunelleschi is also credited with the authorship of the Florentine Pitti Palace, as well as the abbey buildings in Fiesole (a suburb of Florence). Probably, the Pitti palace was completed or even built by his student Luca Francelli. In 1446, the last in the life of the master, the church of Santo Spirito was built according to his project (only a heavily altered atrium has survived).

In addition, for many years there was a parallel work of a purely engineering nature: fortifications were built in Pisa and Lucca, cargo ships were built. Brunelleschi created a special ship with a lifting device for transporting marble, which became the prototype of the modern crane. This invention was the first to receive a patent granted to a master in Florence in 1421. In addition, Brunelleschi was loaded with administrative duties and participated in various city commissions and councils in Florence and beyond, went to consultations in Ferrara, Mantua and Rimini. For some time he held one of the highest republican elective posts - the position of prior.

In 1429, Brunelleschi personally took part in the general oath of allegiance to the republic, pledging to “eliminate injustice, overthrow any hatred, completely move away from (the struggle) of factions and parties, caring only about the good, honor and greatness of the republic, forget about all the sorrows experienced so far. day because of party or factional passions, or for some other reason. " He made various travels on behalf of the "Council of Ten" (like his father), maintaining contact with the eminent citizens of the city.

From the 1440s, the architect worked for Cosimo Medici, though not quite successfully. By his order, Brunelleschi prepared a model of the palazzo, working on it with special diligence and inspiration. But the project seemed to the customer too pretentious. Under the made-up pretext of a lack of funds, he rejected the work of the master. Biographers write that this drove Filippo into incredible fury, and he smashed his model to smithereens.

Filippo Brunelleschi died on April 16, 1446, being a famous and recognized master who wrote both his name and his city in history. In May 1447, his body was buried in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The tombstone was made by Cavalcanti, the Latin epitaph was made by the famous humanist and chancellor of the Florentine Republic Carlo Marsuppini. In it, the "grateful fatherland" paid tribute to the architect Filippo for "an amazing dome" and "for many structures invented by his divine genius."

On the death of Brunelleschi Vasari in his book
wrote: “... April 16 left for a better life
after many labors put by him
to create those works that
he earned a glorious name on earth and a monastery
rest in heaven "

The overall significance of Brunelleschi's work for the subsequent development of architecture is enormous. He surprisingly combined an outstanding mathematical mind and highly developed artistic intuition, which makes him very reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci. Despite the controversy, it is still believed that it was Brunelleschi who introduced the laws of linear perspective into art, revived the order and proportional system of antiquity. His works are characterized by simplicity and harmony, which are generated by following the golden ratio. The master himself said this about his work: "If I had a chance to make a hundred models of churches or other buildings, I would make them all varied and different." This variety (lat. Varietas) was especially highly valued in the era of the most free creativity. Brunelleschi is one of the "fathers" and geniuses of the Early Renaissance, and his role in the development of architecture is as great as the role of Masaccio in painting and Donatello in sculpture.

In the family of the notary Brunelleschi di Lippo; Filippo Giuliana Spini's mother was related to the noble families of Spini and Aldobrandini. As a child, Filippo, to whom his father's practice was to pass, received a humanistic upbringing and the best education for that time: he studied Latin, studied ancient authors. Growing up with humanists, Brunelleschi adopted the ideals of this circle, longing for the times of "their ancestors" Romans, and hatred for everything alien, for the barbarians who destroyed Roman culture, including the "monuments of these barbarians" (and among them - medieval buildings, narrow streets of cities), which seemed alien and inartistic to him in comparison with the ideas that humanists formed about the greatness of Ancient Rome.

Having abandoned the career of a notary, Filippo from 1392 studied, probably with a goldsmith, and then practiced as an apprentice with a goldsmith in Pistoia; He also studied drawing, modeling, engraving, sculpture and painting, in Florence he studied industrial and military machines, acquired significant knowledge of mathematics for that time in the study of Paolo Toscanelli, who, according to Vasari, taught him mathematics. In 1398 Brunelleschi joined the Arte della Seta, which included goldsmiths. In Pistoia, young Brunelleschi worked on the silver figures of the altar of St. Jacob - his works are strongly influenced by the art of Giovanni Pisano. In the work on the sculptures, Brunelleschi was helped by Donatello (he was then 13 or 14 years old) - from that time on, friendship bound the masters for life.

In 1401, Filippo Brunelleschi returned to Florence, took part in the announced Arta di Calimala (workshop of fabric merchants) competition for the decoration of two bronze gates of the Florentine Baptistery with reliefs. Jacopo della Quercia, Lorenzo Ghiberti and a number of other masters took part in the competition with him. The competition, chaired by 34 judges, for which each master had to submit a bronze relief "The Sacrifice of Isaac" performed by him, lasted for a year. The competition was lost to Brunelleschi - Ghiberti's relief surpassed him artistically and technically (it was molded from one piece and was 7 kg lighter than Brunelleschi's relief). However, despite the unanimity of the judges in choosing his particular relief as the winner, described by Ghiberti in his "Memoirs", most likely, some intrigues surrounded the history of the competition (Manetti believes that he should have won Brunelleschi). Despite this, Brunelleschi's work was not destroyed with the creations of other participants, but preserved (now in the National Museum, Florence), apparently, nevertheless, having noted it as unusually successful.

According to Manetti, Brunelleschi created several statues in wood and bronze. Among them is the statue of Mary Magdalene, which burned down in Santo Spirito during a fire in 1471. Around 1409 (between 1410s and 1430s) Brunelleschi created a wooden "Crucifix" in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, according to testimony his biographers - having entered into a friendly dispute with Donatello.

Offended by the fact that he had lost the competition, Brunelleschi left Florence and went to Rome, where, perhaps, he decided to perfectly study ancient sculpture (some scientists postpone the date of the trip, some generally consider it a figment of the biographer's fantasy, some - that there were several such trips and they were short-lived). During Filippo's stay in Rome, Donatello was almost invariably with him. They lived in the Eternal City for several years, and since both were excellent goldsmiths, they earned their living by this craft and spent everything they earned on organizing excavations of ancient ruins. In his free time, he devoted himself entirely to the study of Roman ruins, and the influence of Roman impressions can be noted in the work of both masters.

In Rome, the young Brunelleschi turned from plastic to the art of building, starting to carefully measure the remaining ruins, sketching plans for entire buildings and plans for individual parts, capitals and cornices, projections, types of buildings and all their details. He had to dig out the backfilled parts and foundations, he had to draw up these plans into a single whole at home, restore what was not completely intact. So he was imbued with the spirit of antiquity, working like a modern archaeologist with a tape measure, a shovel and a pencil, learned to distinguish the types and structure of ancient buildings and created the first history of Roman architecture in folders with his sketches ”(P. Frankl).

Opening perspective

Brunelleschi wanted to make the perception of the terms and theaters he reconstructed more clearly and tried to create geometrically perspective pictures from his plans for a specific point of view. In this search, a direct perspective was first discovered (or rediscovered), according to a tradition dating back to the second half of the 15th century.

In Florence, where he from time to time, apparently, returned from Rome, he placed on the street such constructed perspectives (boards with the image of the Baptistery and the Cathedral, a view of Piazza Signoria), the silhouettes of which he cut out and which from a certain point of view merged with the depicted building ( for example, with the Baptistery). The best masters of Florence - L. Ghiberti (in his reliefs for the Doors of the Baptistery) and Masaccio (in his fresco "Trinity" in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, the perspective of which was most likely developed by Brunelleschi), took up the study of perspective. experience of knowing the real world in their works.

First architectural projects: Foundling Home and San Lorenzo

In 1419, the Arté della Seta workshop commissioned Brunelleschi to build an Orphanage for babies left without parents (Ospedale degli Innocenti - Shelter of the Innocent, operated until 1875), which became, in fact, the first building of the Renaissance in Italy.

The orphanage is organized simply: the arcades of its loggia open towards Piazza Santissima Annunziata - the building is actually its openwork "wall". All architectural elements are clearly readable, the scale of the building does not exceed a human measure, but is consistent with it. An open staircase of 9 steps leads the entire width of the building to the lower floor, which is a gallery of 9 semicircular arches, which rest on high columns of a composite order. From the capitals to the back wall of the gallery there are supporting arches, which are supported by consoles decorated with capitals. At the corners, a row of columns has a pilaster, above each of them rests an architrave, which stretches over all the arches. Between the arches and the architrave there are majolica medallions made by Della Robbia depicting swaddled babies (with their simple colors - blue and white - they make the rhythm of the columns calmer, calmer). The rectangular format of the windows, their frames and gables are copied by Brunelleschi from Roman samples, as well as the columns, archivolts of arches, pilasters and the profile of the cornice. But antique forms are interpreted unusually freely, the whole composition is original and cannot at all be called a copy of antique samples. Thanks to some special sense of proportion, Brunelleschi in the context of the entire architecture of the Renaissance seems to be the most "Greek", not Roman master, despite the fact that he could not see a single Greek building.

Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Old Sacristy

While the Orphanage was under construction, Brunelleschi began work on the Old Sacristy of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in 1420 (founded in 390, rebuilt), and for the first time created a clear and harmonious centric composition that became exemplary for the Renaissance (completed in 1428). ). Funds for the construction were allocated by the Medici - representatives of their family were buried here. The Sacristia of San Lorenzo is a spacious (approx. 11 m wide) square room covered with a dome. On the east side, the wall opens towards the altar, which is square and also covered with a dome - a small low room, thus subordinated to a large, high one; each is clearly perceived separately, in isolation, in which the main feature of Brunelleschi's artistic task is expressed - the desire for clarity. The edges and corners of the walls of both rooms are marked with Corinthian pilasters supporting the entablature - the order emphasizes the entire structure of the room and clearly captures the perception of space. Decorative arches are superimposed on the walls, above which the dome rises, and semicircular windows are placed above the entablature in the lunettes. The sails, lunettes, doors and areas above them are decorated with reliefs made by Donatello. All tectonic joints - the order, window frames, vaults ribs - are made of dark stone and stand out against the neutral ornate white walls.

When Brunelleschi took over the rebuilding of the Church of San Lorenzo, the walls of her altar were already high, the sacristy was being built, and on the other side were the remains of the old Church of San Lorenzo, which had not yet been broken. This early Christian basilica determined the shape of the new church. Early Christian architecture was not considered barbaric, its antique columns still belonged to the "good style". Thus, the path to the Renaissance - revived antique - architecture largely went through the memory of the times of early Christianity and its architecture.

The side naves of the basilica are not through, as it was traditionally, but are formed by a chain of identical square rooms covered with vaults. The columns, antique in proportions, silhouette and pattern of capitals, easily bear weight, arches are thrown over them, the whole space is dissected with mathematical clarity - everything that is oppressive, everything that divides is avoided. Simple ornamentation, partly antique, partly following the Florentine tradition, partly invented by Brunelleschi himself, makes an imprint of lightness, harmony, and the whole mood of this church building is a mood of unabated cheerfulness, naive joy of being.

Dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria della Fiore

Soon after arriving in Florence, Brunelleschi was carried away by a complex engineering task - the erection of a dome over the city's cathedral (1420–1436), its construction began almost simultaneously with the construction of San Lorenzo. The idea of ​​the dome - an octagonal lancet vault - is Gothic, and was already outlined by the builder of the cathedral, Arnolfo di Cambio, the cathedral's campanile was built, as is usually believed, by the great Giotto. The complexity of the construction itself was not only in the erection of the dome, but also in the construction of special devices that would allow working at high altitudes, which seemed impossible then. Brunelleschi proposed to the city council to make a light 8-sided dome of brick, which would be assembled from the "lobes" and fastened at the top with an architectural lantern, in addition, he volunteered to create a number of machines for climbing up and working at heights. The dome (42 m high) was built without scaffolding on the ground; it consists of two shells connected by ribs and horizontal rings. Towering above the city, the dome, with its aspiration upward and flexible elastic contour, defined the characteristic silhouette of Florence, and by the contemporaries themselves it was thought of as a symbol of a new era - the Renaissance. The glory of the architect and the city was also promoted by the fact that the dome was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV himself.

Pazzi Chapel

Church of Santo Spirito. Palazzo Pitti

The Basilica of Santo Spirito (Holy Spirit) differs only slightly from San Lorenzo: the outer chapels are semicircular niches here.

Brunelleschi only lived to see the foundation of this building. Only 8 years after his death, the first column was erected; details, profiles, ornaments were carried out by subordinate builders, and their dry forms only in the most general terms correspond to the plan of the master himself.

In 1440, at the zenith of his fame, Brunelleschi was commissioned to build the Palazzo Pitti. Luca Pitti, a wealthy merchant who wanted to politically and economically ruin the Medici and in fact already seemed to be winning, eventually lost all meaning thanks to the Medici's diplomatic skill and his spinelessness. His palace was to serve as a monument to his victory over the Medici and Florence and was to be so large that the largest palace in Florence could be placed in his yard. The courtyard remained open at the back, and received a facade only a century later (1558, architect B. Ammanati); and although the palace as a whole was eventually completed, it was in a very different way from what Pitti had intended, in addition, the front façade was considerably lengthened over the following centuries, so that the initial impression was greatly changed.

Only the middle 7 spans refer to the original building. It was a structure without an accentuated middle, no accentuated corners, the silhouette of which had no ledges - just a prismatic lump. Two identical upper floors rose above the lower floors, all of them enormous (each 12 m high). The entire façade is finished with rough rusticated wood; individual rectangular stones are of overwhelming weight. The more the tension is felt, the more it is also felt that the master has dominated the material.

In the last years of the master's life, the construction of the Palazzo Pazzi-Quaratesi (completed after his death) in Florence falls. The lower floor is finished with rustic wood, the upper floors are plastered.

Biography (based on the book "100 Great Architects" by D. Samin, www.brunelleschi.ru and www.peoples.ru)

& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbsp Brunelleschi was born in 1377 in Florence. Filippo learned from an early age to read, write and count, as well as a little Latin; his father was a notary and thought that his son would do the same. From an early age, the boy showed interest in drawing and painting and was very successful in this. When his father decided, according to custom, to teach him the craft, Brunelleschi chose jewelry, and his father, being a reasonable man, agreed with this. Thanks to his studies in painting, Philippe soon became a professional in the jewelry craft.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn 1398 Brunelleschi joined Arte della Seta and became a goldsmith. However, joining the workshop did not yet give a certificate, he received it only six years later, in 1404. Prior to that, he had an internship in the workshop of the famous jeweler Linardo di Matteo Ducci in Pistoia. Filippo Brunelleschi remained in Pistoia until 1401. When a competition was announced for the second doors of the Florentine Baptistery, he apparently already lived in Florence, he was 24 years old.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspFilippo Brunelleschi had a large fortune, had a house in Florence and land in its vicinity. He was constantly elected to the government bodies of the Republic.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspAll construction activities of Brunelleschi, both in the city itself and outside, were carried out on behalf of or with the approval of the Florentine Commune. According to Philippe's projects and under his leadership, a whole system of fortifications was erected in the cities conquered by the Republic, on the borders of its subordinate or controlled territories. Large fortification works were carried out in Pistoia, Lucca, Pisa, Livorno, Rimini, Siena and in the vicinity of these cities. In fact, Brunelleschi was the main architect of Florence.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspThe dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the earliest of Brunelleschi's largest works in Florence.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspBefore starting work, Brunelleschi drew a full-size plan of the dome. He took advantage of the Arno Shallows near Florence. The official start of construction work was celebrated on August 7, 1420 with a ceremonial breakfast.Since October, Filippo Brunelleschi began to receive a salary, albeit a very modest one, since it was believed that he exercised only general leadership.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn 1429, representatives of the Florentine magistrate sent Brunelleschi near Lucca to supervise the work associated with the siege of the city. After inspecting the area, Brunelleschi proposed a project. Brunelleschi's plan was that, by erecting a system of dams on the Serchio River and thus raising the water level, open the sluices at the right time so that water, rushing through special channels, flooded the entire area around the city walls, forcing Lucca to surrender. Brunelleschi's project was implemented, but suffered a fiasco, the water gushing, flooding not the besieged city, but the camp of the besiegers, which had to be hastily evacuated.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspPerhaps Brunelleschi was not to blame - the Council of Ten made no claims against him. However, the Florentines considered Philippe to be the culprit for the failure of the Lucca campaign, they did not give him a pass on the streets. Brunelleschi was desperate.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn September 1431, he made a will, apparently fearing for his life. There is an assumption that at this time he left for Rome, fleeing shame and persecution.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn 1434, Filippo Brunelleschi defiantly refused to pay a contribution to the workshop of masons and woodworkers. It was a challenge to the guild principle of work organization, thrown down by the artist, who realized himself as an independent creative person. As a result of the conflict, Brunelleschi ended up in a debt prison. The conclusion did not force the architect to submit, and soon the workshop was forced to yield: Brunelleschi was released at the insistence of the Opera del Duomo, since construction work could not continue without him. It was a kind of revenge taken by Brunelleschi after the failure of the siege of Lucca.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspFilippo Brunelleschi believed that he was surrounded by enemies, envious people, traitors who tried to bypass him, deceive, rob him. It is difficult to say whether it really was so, but this is how Philippe perceived his position, such was his position in life.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspThe mood of Brunelleschi, no doubt, was influenced by the act of his adopted son - Andrea Lazzaro Cavalcanti, nicknamed Buggiano. Philippe adopted him in 1417 as a five-year-old child and loved him like a family, raised him, made him his student, assistant. In 1434, Buggiano ran away from home, taking all the money and jewelry. From Florence he left for Naples. What happened is unknown, but Brunelleschi made him return, forgave and made him his only heir.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp& nbspBack in 1430, Brunelleschi began construction of the Pazzi Chapel, where the architectural and constructive techniques of the sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo found their further improvement and development.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn 1436 Brunelleschi began work on the project for the Basilica of San Spirito. The last cult building of Brunelleschi, in which a synthesis of all his innovative techniques was outlined, was the oratorio (chapel) of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence (founded in 1434). This building was not finished.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspIn Florence, a number of works have survived, revealing, if not the direct participation of Brunelleschi, then, in any case, his influence. These include Palazzo Pazzi, Palazzo Pitti and Badia (abbey) in Fiesole.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspNone of the large constructions started by Filippo Brunelleschi were completed by him, he was busy at all, supervised everyone at the same time. And not only in Florence. At the same time, he built in Pisa, Pistoia, Prato - he traveled to these cities regularly, sometimes several times a year. In Siena, Lucca, Volterra, Livorno and its environs, in San Giovanni Val d "Arno, he headed the fortification work. Brunelleschi sat on various councils, commissions, gave advice on issues related to architecture, construction, engineering; he was invited in Milan in connection with the construction of the cathedral, they asked his advice on strengthening the Milan castle.Brunelleschi traveled as a consultant to Ferrara, Rimini, Mantua, carried out an examination of marble in Carrara.
& nbsp & nbsp & nbsp & nbspFilippo Brunelleschi died on April 16, 1449. He was buried in Santa Maria del Fiore.

Brunellesco went down in history as a brilliant innovator and founder of modern architecture.

And yet, despite the enthusiastic assessment of his contemporaries, despite the universal recognition, consecrated by the great tradition and confirmed by modern science, in his historical fate, much is contradictory and mysterious. In fact, the work of the great Florentine, fanned with loud glory, did not have the same direct and powerful influence on the style and techniques of subsequent generations, as, for example, the work of Michelangelo and Palladio.

Of course, Brunellesco is a pioneer in the creation of new architectural types and genres, be it a central domed composition, a basilica or a palazzo. He is the first representative of consistent order thinking that arose on the basis of a new, humanistic worldview. And yet the influence of his individual manner on his contemporaries and descendants turned out to be very superficial and short-lived, and most importantly, all the depth and all the originality of his creative method turned out to be, in essence, incomprehensible, for his closest successors, and after them all subsequent European architecture followed in completely different ways. To a certain extent, this also applies to the history of scientific knowledge of Brunellesco's art ...

What is the irresistible charm of his art? The essence of this charm could most accurately be conveyed in one word: youth. The point here is not only innovation, not only that Brunellesco is one of the brightest carriers of the young ideology of his era, but that he, like no one, perhaps, of his contemporaries, was able to express this quality in his works of art. They arise and develop in the image and likeness of a young organism. His creations speak of the same resilient strength, combined with tenderness, of the same limitless, untapped possibilities that the Florentine artists of the 15th century embodied in the youthful images of Georgievs, Davidov and Sebastianov. Moreover, all Brunellesco's art is directed to the future and, moreover, as history has shown, to the distant future, for European architecture up to the present day has never returned to the youthful structure of the great master's artistic thinking. That is why, perhaps, his "youth" not only affects us with his immediate charm, but is also perceived as deep wisdom.

The charm of youth is combined in the work of Brunellesco with the charm of his unique, bright personality. But, perhaps, the most individual architect in the whole world architecture. His architecture, as it were, reaches the limit of individualization that architecture can reach. That is why Brunellesco's work is an extremely ungrateful area for those who like to seek out "influences". Any traditional form, falling into the hands of Brunellesco, becomes a "new" form, bearing the trace of his handwriting. Future research will show how much this character penetrates into all the pores of artistic organisms created by it, be it, for example, profiling or harmonic structure. In this his "individualism" Brunellesco, of course, is the son of his age, this era of "titans" and strong characters, when it was a strong and bright personality that was the bearer of a progressive beginning in culture. However, the individualism of art finds in him a peculiar and very essential correction in the objectivism with which he approaches the solution of each problem.

Remaining himself and retaining the unique charm of his youthful structure, Brunellesco never repeats itself. IV Zholtovsky once said that you can never foresee what Brunellesco would do under certain conditions. Indeed, each of his works amazes not only with the individuality of style, but also with the individuality of the image dictated by this program. So, for example, what is in common between the gentle lyricism of the Palazzo Pazzi and the harsh solemnity of the Palazzo di Parta Guelfa, between the Pazzi air chapel and the monumental Santa Maria degli Angeli! And how significant and significant are the not so noticeable at first glance differences of the Old Sacristy from the Pazzi chapel and San Lorenzo from San Spirito! This objectivism, this profound truthfulness of the master is again rooted in that realism and that universalism that were characteristic only of the first generations of the masters of the Italian Renaissance.

No wonder Brunellesco belonged to that glorious galaxy of "titans" who, inspired by the pathos of knowledge, were able to harmoniously combine in one person an artist and a scientist, an architect and an engineer, a painter and an optician, a humanist and an inventor. For Brunellesco, as well as for his friend and younger contemporary - Alberti, Architecture with a capital letter was a synthesis of all cultural construction as a whole. The manufacture of complex mechanisms for the scaffolding of the cathedral dome, fortification and irrigation work, perspective studies and the creation of scenic panoramas, the study of mathematics and topography of Dante's poem - all this was not an amateur or side business for Brunellesco, which still sometimes causes a smile in the reader of his biography. No, this realism and universalism were the fertile soil on which his innovation grew and matured. It was on this basis that Brunellesco's conscious and free attitude to the heritage of the past and to the future being created was formed.

The question of Brunellesco's innovation is rather complicated, since in his work the traditional and the revolutionary are intertwined. His first works were something fundamentally "unprecedented", and at the same time they were deeply rooted in the traditions of the past. To the immediate past, to the Gothic, Brunellesco did not at all show the sharply negative attitude characteristic of the next generation.

Brunellesco fully perceives the frame-ribbed system of Gothic, but fills it with new content as order thinking grows stronger and matures in him. The Gothic framework is divided into an order and an arch and acquires a new tectonic meaning. Along with this, Brunellesco, with ingenious determination, returns to the Byzantine form of the dome on sails, playing out this theme based on the same frame system. As for the famous Florentine dome, this, with the exception of the given constructive scheme of a closed ribbed vault, is a completely new image in the history of world architecture. This is an organically dismembered volume, "overshadowing," in the words of Alberti, "all the Tuscan peoples." The under-dome space is not a Gothic interior that alienates the visitor from the space of real nature, but a living part of the natural space, where, according to the same Alberti, “a kind of spring air dissolution reigns” and where we experience that pleasure “when things come to our senses in in such a quality as nature requires ”.

The same realistic trend explains what it would be correct to call the folk stream in his work, namely the strong ties that connect him with the Tuscan artistic tradition, in particular with the so-called proto-Renaissance, the oldest manifestation of this tradition.

As a humanist, Brunellesco already thinks in the categories of order logic; as a Florentine patriot, he expresses himself in his native Tuscan dialect, while Alberti the architect uses Vitruvius's Latin, which becomes as obligatory for architects of the next generations as Cicero is for writers.

But what is the attitude of Brunellesco to antiquity, which in the minds of people of that time was something like a magic mirror that answered all questions? It has been noted more than once that the masters of the first half of the 15th century treated the classical heritage with naive illegibility and were interested not so much in the principles and canons of ancient architecture as in its external, decorative forms, and even then without stylistic rigorism. Brunellesco was also distinguished by the absence of this rigorism, but in terms of the depth of penetration into the very essence of ancient architectural thinking, hardly anyone can compare with him. However, it is here that we come across very peculiar features, which were first pointed out by I.V. Zholtovsky and which lead us into the very core of Brunellesco's creative method.

Brunellesco's biographers tell of his many years of hard work on the study of ancient buildings in Rome. His first biographer and contemporary, Manetti, testifies that Brunellesco was interested not only in constructive techniques of the ancients and not only in orders and details, but in general issues of composition: the laws of proportionality, musical proportions and “a certain definite structure of members and skeleton”. If we compare with this the works of Brunellesco that have come down to us, then first of all it is striking that all the formal external stylistic wealth of Roman architecture had no influence on them. Moreover, a deeper analysis shows that Brunellesco did not accept the basic compositional principles of Roman art.

The architectural organism, both in general and in detail, is always built by Brunellesco on the principle of facilitating and differentiating form from the bottom up and from the center to the periphery, while for Rome the opposite is typical - the weighting and enlargement of the form, emphasizing the contradiction between growth and load, life and matter. Suffice it to recall such a completely exceptional and, perhaps, unique phenomenon in European architecture as the composition of internal volumes in the Pazzi Chapel. Here the image develops from the plane to the top of the dome in the process of increasing relief, differentiation and reproduction. At the same time, each new stage of growth brings with it a completely new quality - from the undivided unity of the rectangular plan to the three-part division into naves and, further, from the five-part division of the base of the dome on sails to the twelve-part flowering of the crowning part. Brunellesco thinks and creates in categories characteristic not of the Roman, but of the Greek type of architectural thinking. With all the conventionality of the opposition of "Greek" and "Roman", it is now impossible to deny the fact that the architectural images created by Brunellesco, in their compositional structure, and thus in their ideological and emotional content, are naturally included in the tradition of world architecture, which leads its origin from ancient Greece and which through Hellenism and Byzantium with such force and originality affected the ancient Russian architecture.

Now it is still difficult to answer the question of how Brunellesco managed to hear the "silenced sound of the divine Hellenic speech" in the ruins of imperial Rome or in the Byzantine buildings known to him. But one thing remains undeniable: Brunellesco, inspired not by the letter, but by the spirit of the ancient heritage, created wonderful examples of humanistic and realistic art, embodying in them his dream of a free, happy person, for whom, through the knowledge of the laws of nature, the vastness of the future opens up.

Brunellesco loved and knew how to quote Dante. I would like to think that he more than once recalled how in the 26th song of "Hell" the gray-haired Odysseus, before setting off on his last fatal voyage to the uncharted depths of the Atlantic Ocean, summons his elderly sailors and, inspiring them to the last feat, recalls them:

You were not made for the animal's share
But they were born to valor and knowledge.

A. Gabrichevsky