I do not mean to be patronising at all, but I also don't want to just say, "great job," without telling you how you are both helpful and successful in your videos. In this case, you introduce so many new terms, that it could get very confusing and discouraging if you didn't also show us the word in print to one side. That is exceptionally helpful. Further, some of those terms--I'm thinking "Romanesque" specifically--seem obscure to a degree. I doubt that I would use them without your assistance in these videos. Finally, your method for dissecting the art or architecture in your videos is as organised as Classical architecture itself. Smarthistory deserves every congratulatory remark it receives. Thank you!
The most striking elements are the curved volutes (or scrolls) which smooth the transition from the upper to the lower tier. This was to be a completely unique design element until over a hundred years later when it was popularized by Baroque facades such as the Church of the Gesù in 1584 My favorite church in Florence is Santa Maria Novella because of its unique facade and the wealth of art inside.
Loved the video. Wish I had found it sooner. Last month I visited my daughter who is studying in Florence this semester. While there we joined her art history class which was touring the interior of this church. Truly is a magnificent edifice in terms of art, history and architecture!
This was my favourite church from my visit to Florence, especially the interior. The beautiful pietra serena columns compliment the environment of the building perfectly.
i guess Im asking randomly but does any of you know of a method to get back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost my account password. I love any assistance you can offer me
@Krew Jaime thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
The sails are an interesting insignia. I can see the wind of the Holy Spirit being linked to salvation, though. I wouldn't have appreciated the significance of those scrolls if I hadn't watched this. It's nice to know functional details beyond the more obvious decorative aspects of buildings. Aaaand that little kid's face is kinda creepy, lol. Would've skipped that, personally. 😅
It is not clear why the pilasters in the upper part are not aligned with those in the lower part. It seems the upper part is shifted to the right. Is it because the window existed already before Alberti, and it was misaligned due to an engineering mistake?
@@smarthistoryvideos Well I can't understand what you mean. You say: "And that Greek temple front caused the problem for Alberti". Do you mean the Greek temple front existed before his intervention? That seems strange in a gothic church. On the other hand, if it was Alberti to build it, then he would have built it aligned. I suppose the "Greek temple front" was made by Alberti, but some pre-existing architectural structures (possibly the window) constrained him in making it "weird". (And in any case, very good video).
@@uffa00001the temple front covers and corresponds to the front wall of the high nave. Even the circular window was there. I'm guessing he could have placed the bottom arch and pillars differently to align with the two central pillasters of the temple front, but I would suspect that would get the lower front out of proportion and probably wouldn't have worked with the tombs. Either way - there's no easy way to align the bottom structure well to the high nave without all the trickery
