Brunelleschi and the Moment of the Renaissance

by Marvin Trachtenberg

Filippo Brunelleschi is at once the most famous and most misunderstood architect of the Renaissance. The founding architect of the movement that led the way to modernity, his originality was not expressed in words or theory but rather in the materials he used, the scenography of space he engineered, the ingenuity of his designs, the exquisite workmanship of his detailing and the strikingly creative reworking of classical elements that make up his buildings. Marvin Trachtenberg offers a new view of Brunelleschi’s brilliant career as well as his life, guiding the reader through his most iconic works in Florence. In the process, this book sheds light on the driven, competitive culture of Renaissance Italy. This is an original, lively account of a key Renaissance figure.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2025

Reviews

[Brian Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is precisely 50 years since I published my first article on the subject of architectural history. Few books since then have reminded me of why I wanted to be an architectural historian in the first place more than Trachtenberg's masterpiece on Brunelleschi. How refreshing to read an historian in the Great Tradition, who is unmoved by theory - by the weasel words architects use to justify themselves - but rather forensically observant of what, and how, architects actually build. He is a connoisseur in a field too often dominated by critical theorists (eg. Ada Palmer, author of the recent "Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age"). And for such a connoisseur the work of Brunelleschi offers a rich field. It helps to have read Trachtenberg's 2010 book on what he calls "Building-in-Time" to understand some of the terms he has coined (and does nothing here to explain), such as "onto-structure" - ie. ontological structure, which blinds many historians to actual structure. But this is not a problem if you have ChatGPT to hand. Throughout, unapologetically, the author (now in his late 80s) offers his judicious opinions, many of which diverge from received opinion. It is like listening to a great mind work when faced with the legacy of another great mind.