Customer Reviews

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a thoroughly engaging account of a key period in world cultural history. While most Americans tend to think of the Renaissance in terms of Leonardo and Michelangelo, Walker clearly demonstrates that the real breakthrough came in the early 1400s with the work of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio. Using primary source documents, Renaissance era accounts, and current research into the social, political, and economic history of Florence, he brings these characters to life and paints a fascinating portrait of a city striving for greatness. The dedication of the Florentines to public art is an inspiring story in itself and made me think about how visual art has become an afterthought in our modern world.

The comment by one reader on this page about portraying Ghiberti as a "well-connected hack," doesn't make sense to me, because Walker obviously admires Ghiberti enormously and gives his career and his work almost as much attention as Brunelleschi's. In fact, that was one of my favorite aspects of the book. I knew a little about Brunelleschi before I read it, but I didn't know much about Ghiberti, and I found him fascinating in his own right. Walker's main point is that it was the two of them - Brunelleschi and Ghiberti - who drove the Renaissance in early Quattrocento Florence. Each of them made the other greater than he would have been without their competition.

I also enjoyed the author's speculations into what happened during periods that are not covered by the documents. He always identifies speculation as exactly that, and to me that's part of the fun in reading history - trying to fill in the gaps and imagine what really might have happened. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of how the Renaissance began, or to anyone who wants to read about a time when art really mattered

I cannot recommend this book for several reasons:
1. The premise of the book is specious. There is no true evidence that Brunelleschi and Ghiberti engaged in a "feud". While they certainly competed with each other for the same commissions on occasion, this was completely expected during that period, and ultimately each distinguished himself well as a master artist and craftsman. There is very little evidence that either character attempted to discredit or destroy the other.
2. Because there is little evidence of this feud, the author spends a lot of time using conjecture to argue an ultimately baseless point. Those pages are largely wasted reading.
3. The author's focus detracts from the incredible contribution each of these men made to the Renaissance. Sadly, it's hard to get a sense of that from this book. Brunelleschi may have been the greatest architect in the history of Western civilization. One gets no sense of that from this book. The brilliance of his achievements are largely glossed over. Much of the same can be said for the author's treatment of Ghiberti. It does a disservice to both.

If you have an interest in the dome at Santa Maria della Fiore and/or Ghiberti's doors at the Baptistry on the same site, please read 'Brunelleschi's Dome', by Ross King. It's a very well-researched book and gives the reader a far better view into these two great artists. That book is highly recommended. Sadly, I cannot recommend "The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance".

More than six months passed after my wife and I visited Florence before I discovered Paul Robert Walker's The Feud that Sparked the Renaissance. The book caught my attention and held it. Maybe because I had been to that historical center; equally likely it was because of the story he tells about the emergence of a three dimensional world and the creation of the magnificent dome of the Cathedral of Florence.

I had taken art history courses in college and I had some idea of the major movements in western civilization. Giotto loomed from the darkness; Michelangelo and Raphael and Leonardo basked in bright sunlight. I had only vague memories of Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, two artists who walked the streets of Florence early in the 15th century. Walker changed that for me. He drew such an exquisite picture of the times that I felt drawn into the community. I felt a part of the street scene. I felt the heat and the passion of the times. And I felt the competition between these two key figures that helped focus shafts of light on Florence.

They changed the world by what they saw. Ghiberti's doors are exquisite; Brunelleschi's dome is incomparable. What appeared to be an uncommon feat when I sat at a cafe table and admired the curve of the dome turned into an architectural and engineering marvel. Walker leads the reader through the political and cultural history of Florence, weaving tales of skirmish and battle that eventually bring us to the emergence of a new era. The story is not a simple one. Readers will have to work a bit to reach beyond the surface. But it is worthy of the effort. The author will not let you down. When you feel the need for additional explanation he provides it. And through it all he reminds us that the efforts of these key artists of the early Renaissance helped set the stage for the modern world.

This isn't the type of book I'd be inclined to read, but heard about it from a friend, and when I came across it in a bookstore I decided to give it a try. I'm not one to get excited about art history, but I found this a wonderful story and by the time I finished it I developed a new interest in renaissance art and a desire to visit Florence and see in person what was so vividly described in this book. I think the author did a great job in his research to present a credible but engaging story that I suspect is little known or appreciated outside of art history circles. Perhaps the fact that he is not an art historian by profession helped make this much more readable than what might have come from the pen of a "true expert." The story does take time to develop, but worth sticking with. A few more pictures of some of the art described would have been nice. I'm looking forward to reading what Paul Robert Walker tackles next.

Mr. Walker demands respect for his authentic recreation
of the characters and intrigue chiseled from stone
and history to bring to life a time and personality
that changed the world. Walker allows the reader to
explore with detail one of the most exciting stories
in the panorama of art and architecture. This book
is a perfect gift for any intelligent reader who
has enthusiasm for the Renaissance. A must read.
The writing style and subject delivers the right
note from page to page. Intellectualism is fine...
but truth is even better. Walker gives us both.

.. something so unique and miraculous that it changed our world forever. We call it the Renaissance, a rebirth of ancient art and learning.'

This story begins in the waning days of the 14th century, and tells the story of the competition between Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi to design and produce a new set of bronze doors for the Church of St John the Baptist (The Baptistery) in Florence. Ghiberti won this particular competition, but was largely eclipsed by Brunelleschi who went on to become the architect of the dome of Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore.

Mr Walker describes the competition between the two as personal and hence as a feud. I see it more as a conflict of ideas rather than purely as a personal feud. Brunelleschi is credited with inventing perspective and used this in his design of the dome. It was this modern approach to engineering that enabled Santa Maria del Fiore to be crowned with a dome of such magnificence and beauty that it has become one of the most enduring symbols of the Renaissance. It seems that Ghiberti, by contrast, created his beautiful work by drawing on the past.

I'm not entirely comfortable with Mr Walker's view of Brunelleschi and Ghiberti as sparking the Renaissance, attractive as it is to think of an artist and an architect ushering in this new age. I prefer to see the Bapistery doors and the Dome symbols of the Renaissance, rather than the catalyst for it.

I enjoyed reading this book: it added to my understanding of Florence during this period.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Renaissance is a subject of great interest and curiousity to me. The author provided for me a depth of information, with supporting detail, I found very engaging. I am a docent at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco where we are blessed with an exact copy of the Ghiberti Paradise Doors.. one of just three in the world stuck from molds of the original panels. I learned of this book from a visitor who told me she could not believe her surprise and good fortune to see the doors here after her enjoyment of the book. She was correct. I believe the author provides a very good mix of history, supporting documentation and story telling to move this beyond a flat text book and into a favorite reference for me.

An engaging treatment of the rivalry between two creative giants. This book takes you into the time period and opens the world of the early Renaissance to the modern reader. The author's thorough scholarship makes Brunelleschi & Ghiberti more real than do the work of some others and yields a true feel for both the time period and the individuals involved. If you love history, art or architecture you will enjoy this book!

This book was a real gem, and appealed to many of the aspects of literature I enjoy. It was history at its finest, but also a very good story of an artistic rivalry between two great Florentine artists - a rivalry which literally helped inspire and bring about the Italian renaissance. Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi are the two artists most prominently featured in the book, but Donatello and others are also there. It opens with the story of the competition to win the design rights for the baptistery doors for the main cathedral in Florence - which was ultimately won by Ghiberti. However, the bulk of the story describes how Brunelleschi won the right to design and build the dome of the cathedral. The vision and artistic genius of these two inspired future Renaissance artists - including Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. If you ever plan to visit Florence, or have ever visited there, this book should be a must read! I wish I had read it before I went there in 1999. Today, you can see all the works of art - the doors and the dome, in this beautiful Tuscan city. This book will tell you how it all came to happen.

The author says he stumbled upon the threads of this story by chance and the investigation and writing became a personal quest. It is not intended to be an academic tome but it is a gathering of silken threads which can take you in directions of your choice - or just provide a link in time that connects many of the artists sharing the air of Florence at exactly the same time. I have read many detailed books on artists mentioned in The Feud and I found it refreshing to have them linked together with some lovely conjectures which can be accepted or debated - that is a healthy outcome. I like to discover new detail. Just one example I discovered was the music composed by Guillaume Dufay for the reconsecration of the cathedral and to my joy I was then able to find and hear that very music on the internet! Words, pictures, poetry but music too. I have read this book twice and I happily recommend it to anyone with wider knowledge of this period or someone just wanting to enjoy something new.