Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BRAMANTE, THE ARCHITECT'S ARCHITECT
One of the most influential architects of his day, Donato Bramante (1444−1514) was the godfather of Renais-
sance architecture. His peers Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci considered him the only architect of
their era equal to the ancients.
Born near Urbino, he originally trained as a painter before taking up architecture in his mid-30s in Milan.
However, it was in Rome that he enjoyed his greatest success. Working for Pope Julius II, he developed a monu-
mental style that while classical in origin was pure Renaissance in its expression of harmony and perspective. The
most perfect representation of this is his Tempietto, a small but much-copied temple. His original designs for St
Peter's Basilica also revealed a classically inspired symmetry with a Pantheon-like dome envisaged atop a Greek-
cross structure.
Rich and influential, Bramante was an adept political operator, a ruthless and unscrupulous manipulator who
was not above badmouthing his competitors. It's said, for example, that he talked Pope Julius II into giving
Michelangelo the Sistine Chapel contract in the hope that it would prove the undoing of the young Tuscan artist.
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