Influential Renaissance Architecture Essay -- Architecture

As one begins to delve into the history of modern architecture one quickly realizes the influence that Renaissance architects such as Donato Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo had on modern architecture. Simply look around a city at the business district and one will see bits and pieces of the Renaissance architecture. The Renaissance architecture has had an influence on architecture throughout the ages. St. Peter’s Basilica Donato Bramante was born in 1444 near Urbino. At an early age Bramante was exposed to the world of art and architecture. Bramante’s early exposure to the world of art influenced his future architectural work such as his work on Saint Peter’s Basilica. Bramante started to gained recognition while he was working on â€Å"Tempietto† that was constructed on the site that is believed to be the site where St. Peter was hung (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005). The work on Tempietto was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; thus, bringing prestige to Bramante’s work. It was this type of recognition that led to Bramante being commissioned to design and rebuild St Peter’s Basilica. Pope Julius II decided that the old basilica need to be torn down because the old basilica had been built in the early fourth century during the era of Constantine; therefore, the Pope decided a new basilica was needed. He appointed Bramante as the architecture to build a new Basilica befitting the papacy’s image (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005). Bramante decided that the new basilica would be a magnificent version of the Tempietto that he had built in 1502. The design would be â€Å"a monumentally proportioned, centrally planned church to be capped by an immense dome† (Fiero, 2008, p. 196). He did not follow the â€Å"classical longitudi... ...ivan-architect/louis- henry-sullivan-architect.php Benton, R. J. & DiYanni, R. (2005). Arts and cultures; an introduction to the Humanities. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall Craven, J. (2010). The Wainwright building. Retrieved on May 12, 2010 from, http://architecture.about.com/od/skyscrapers/ig/Skyscrapers/Wainwright-Building-htm Fiero, G.K. (2008). Landmarks in humanities (2nd ed). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. History-World.org. (unknown). Architecture. Retrieved on may 10, 2010 from, http://history-world.org/greek%20architecture.htm Planetware.com. (2010). St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Retrieved on May 14, 2010 from, http://www.planetware.com/vatican-city/st-peters-basilica-scv-scv-rspv.htm Vaticanstate.va. (2010). St. Peter’s Basilica. Retrieved on May 20, 2010 from, http://vaticanstat.va/EN/Monuments/Saint_Peter_Basilica/