Francesco di Giorgio, Bramante, and Leonardo: Architectural Thought on the Eve of the High Renaissance in Italy

Summary: The article examines the role of Francesco di Giorgio Martini, a 15th century Sienese architect and engineer, in the development of ideas that formed the basis of architectural thought and practice during the High Renaissance in Italy. Francesco di Giorgio, the author of the Treatise on Civil and Military Architecture, has long been neglected. One of the reasons is that his treatise was not published until the mid‑19th century. However, the illustrations to the treatise, as well as individual sketches by Francesco di Giorgio, were known to his contemporaries, as evidenced by their surviving copies from the 16th and 17th centuries. A significant part of the article is devoted to the time of Francesco di Giorgio’s work as a consultant in the Duchy of Milan in 1490. There, participating in meetings of a group of experts regarding the construction of the crossing tower of the Milan Cathedral, he met Bramante and Leonardo. By the early 90s of the 15th century, each of the masters had extensive experience in studying ancient and modern structures; moreover, Francesco di Giorgio and Bramante had considerable practical experience. Francesco di Giorgio and Leonardo created numerous architectural fantasies, in which sketches of similar designs can be found. Among Francesco di Giorgio’s architectural fantasies, probably connected with the preparation of illustrations for Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture, a sheet draws attention. It depicts three centric temples, surrounded by a columned portico and covered by a dome on a relatively high drum. The composition of one of these temples anticipates the design of the Tempietto, which Bramante erected in Rome in 1502. It gave his contemporaries and followers a reason to speak about the beginning of a new era in architecture, when the skill and glory of ancient architects had been surpassed. Bramante’s early Roman works are traditionally used by researchers to mark the beginning of the High Renaissance in Italy. The article reveals the role of architectural thought of the 1490s in the development of the new era ideas.