Donato
Bramante.
born 1444, probably at Monte Asdruvaldo, Duchy of Urbino
died April 11, 1514, Rome
Donato also spelled Donino , or Donnino architect who introduced
theHigh Renaissance style in architecture. His early works in Milan
included the rectory of S. Ambrogio and the church of Sta. Maria
delle Grazie. In Rome, Bramante served asprincipal planner of Pope
Julius II's comprehensive project for rebuilding the city. St.
Peter's Basilica, of which he was the chief architect, was begun in
1506. Other major Roman works were the Tempietto at S. Pietro in
Montorio (1502) and the Belvedere court in the Vatican (begun c.
1505).
Early years and training
Donato Bramante was born of a family of well-to-do peasants. In his
childhood, says the 16th-century biographer and artist Giorgio
Vasari, “besides reading and writing, he practiced much at the
abacus.” His father probably directed him toward painting.
Little is known of Bramante's life and works before 1477. Heprobably
served as an assistant to Piero della Francesca in Urbino, which
under the nobleman Federico da Montefeltro (died 1482) had become a
Humanist centre of considerable importance. In 1477 Bramante was
working in Bergamo as a painter of illusionistic murals of
architecture. He probably derived his training not only from the
works of artists active in Urbino but also from those of other
artists he may have observed in his travels, such as those of Leon
Battista Alberti (in Rimini and Mantua), Andrea Mantegna (in Mantua
and Padua), Ercole de'Roberti (in Ferrara), and Filippo Brunelleschi
(in Florence).
None of Bramante's youthful productions has survived, though some
historians attribute various architectural perspectives to him.
Almost all of them show some characteristics of Bramante's work, but
they appear very different from each other. Before 1477, Bramante
may have been primarily a planner, designer, and painter of
architectural perspectives that other artists partly modified and
inserted into their own paintings or carried out in construction;
there are a number of later instances in which he is known to have
furnished painters with such architectural perspectives.
Lombard period
By 1477 Bramante had left Urbino for unknown reasons andhad settled
in the northern Italian province of Lombardy. He worked on frescoes
for the facade of the Palazzo del Podestà(later altered) in Bergamo
showing classical figures of philosophers in a complex architectural
setting. Vasari (though poorly informed on this period) says that
Bramante, after working in various cities on “things of no great
cost and little value,” went to Milan “to see the cathedral.” The
cathedral workshop, in which Italian, German, and French craftsmen
worked by turns, constituted an important centre for the exchange of
knowledge, planningmethods, and techniques. Moreover, Milan was a
large and wealthy metropolis, the capital of a state ruled by
Ludovico Sforza, called Il Moro, and Renaissance architecture was a
commodity to be imported. Thus the city represented an opportunity
for a young and up-to-date architect like Bramante.
The first architectural work that can be definitely attributed to
Bramante is a design: a print made in 1481 by a Milanese engraver,
Bernardo Prevedari, from a Bramante drawing representing a ruined
temple with human figures. About the same time, Bramante was working
on the church of Sta. Maria presso S. Satiro, the first structure
definitely attributed to him. Along with a certain adherence to
local taste, this church shows traces of the influence of Alberti,
Mantegna, Brunelleschi, and the Urbino school. This last influence
is particularly evident in its choir, which was painted in
perspective to give an illusion of a much larger space. Perhaps from
the same period (c. 1480–85) is Bramante's decoration of a room in
Casa Panigarola in Milan (fragments in the Brera, Milan) that
consists of architectural settings and the figures of men at arms
rendered by means of illusionistic perspective. Similar experiments,
perhaps also in the same years, seem to have been carried out by
Bramante on the facades of buildings, such as Casa Fontana, later
called Silvestri, in Milan.
In 1488 Bramante, along with a number of other architects, was asked
by Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, brother of Ludovico Sforza and bishop of
Pavia, to draw up a new plan for the cathedral of Pavia. Bramante
went many times to that city during this period, and it was probably
under his direction that the crypt and the lower portion of the
building were executed.
Bramante appears to have had close relations with Leonardo da Vinci.
In 1482 Leonardo had visited Milan from Florence, and in 1490 both
Bramante and Leonardo were occupied with stylistic and structural
problems of the tiburio,or crossing tower, of the cathedral of
Milan. From 1487 to 1490 a number of mutual exchanges can be
documented. The only written evidence of Bramante's ideas on
architecture goes back to this time (1490) and consists of a report
on the tiburio problem. Bramante examined various solutions (among
them one of his own, a square plan), demonstrating a conception of
architecture remarkably like that of Alberti.
Bramante by now enjoyed the favour of both Ludovico and Ascanio
Sforza, as well as that of influential courtiers. His modest salary
and the irregularity of payment, however, did not allow him to live
luxuriously. He came in contact not onlywith artists but also with
Humanists and poets of the Sforza court, and he himself wrote
verses. Like Leonardo, he was involved in the staging of spectacles
at the Sforza court, such as one on the occasion of a baptism in
1492.
Architecture increasingly dominated his interests, but he did not
give up painting. Of the many works attributed to him by various
16th-century writers, however, none seems to have been preserved.
The only extant easel picture that has ever been attributed to him
is the “Christ at the Column” (“Cristo alla colonna”) of the Abbey
of Chiaravalle (c. 1490, now in the Brera, Milan). A fresco in a
complex architectural setting (c. 1490–92) in the Castello Sforzesco
in Milan is probably his, with the collaboration of his pupil Il
Bramantino.
Starting in 1492, Bramante was entrusted by Ludovico and Ascanio
Sforza with the reconstruction of the canonica (rectory) of S.
Ambrogio in Milan. The work was interrupted by the fall of Ludovico,
and, though it was resumed in the 16th century, only one side of the
building was executed. Though Bramante's responsibility cannot be
proved, the idea for the new tribuna (chancel) for Sta. Maria delle
Grazie probably originated with him; destined to be the burial
mausoleum of the Sforzas, the tribuna was in an overall project of
reconstruction, begun in 1492, for the entire church. Bramante also
may have planned the painted decoration of the interior, but the
execution and the clarification of details, particularly on the
exterior, were probably done by Lombard masters.
Bramante's activities in the 1490s, before he left Milan finally for
Rome, are sporadically documented. It has been conjectured that in
the summer of 1492 he was in Florence studying the work of
Brunelleschi, in view of the emphatic Brunelleschian character of
the S. Ambrogio canonica. In 1493 he made a report on certain
fortifications on the Swiss border for Ludovico.
His last few years in Lombardy were marked by the restless activity
that characterized the remainder of his career. He was probably
responsible for the designs of the piazza of Vigevano (carried out
between 1492 and 1494, partly transformed in the late 17th century),
of the painted architectural decoration on the arcaded facades that
markedits limits, and for the designs of other structures of the
Vigevano complex, as well as the painted decoration (which has
disappeared) for the interior of the castle of the same city. His
covered passageway (ponticella) for the Castello Sforzesco in Milan
must also be from this period, and the facade of the church of Sta.
Maria Nascente ad Abbiategrasso (near Milan) dates from 1497.
Between 1497 and 1498, in addition to a chapel (later altered) of S.
Ambrogio in Milan, he worked on the Cistercian Monastery being
erected in Milan under the auspices of Ascanio Sforza; like his work
on the canonica, it was suspended in 1499 and is unfinished.
Endowed with an extremely receptive character, Bramante was by no
means immune to the influence of other artists active in Milan. He
was also influenced by his study of Lombard monuments dating from
the late ancient and Carolingian periods, the memory of which was to
be useful tohim in Rome. Conversely, Bramante's presence (together
with Leonardo's) in Milan was of fundamental importance for the
later artistic developments in that city.
Roman period
Bramante probably remained in Milan until Ludovico was forced to
flee before the city was occupied by the French in September 1499.
Bramante appears to have been active from the first in Rome on a
variety of projects, such as a painting (now lost) at S. Giovanni in
Laterano celebrating the Holy Year 1500. As under-architect of Pope
Alexander VI, he probably executed the fountains in Piazza Sta.
Maria in Trastevere and in St. Peter's Square (later altered) and
served on several architectural councils. It is probable that
inthese years he had reduced his activity as a designer and was
devoting himself to the study of the ancient monumentsin and around
Rome, even ranging as far south as Naples. In the meantime, he had
come in contact with Oliviero Carafa, the wealthy and politically
influential cardinal of Naples, whohad a deep interest in letters,
the arts, and antiquity. Carafa commissioned the first work in Rome
known to be by Bramante: the monastery and cloister of Sta. Maria
della Pace (finished 1504). Bramante seems to have been engaged in
1502 to begin the small church known as the Tempietto in S. Pietro
in Montorio, on the site where St. Peter was said to have been
crucified.
The election of Pope Julius II in October 1503 began a new phase in
Bramante's work—the grand, or mature, manner. Almost immediately he
entered the service of the new pope, one of the greatest patrons in
art history. Bramante became the interpreter, in architecture and
city planning, of the pontiff's dream of re-creating the ancient
empire of the Caesars (renovatio imperii). Bramante planned gigantic
building complexes that adhered as never before to the idiom of
antiquity. At the same time, the buildings often represented an
unbiased, personal, and contemporary interpretation of that idiom.
Perhaps as early as 1505, Bramante designed the immensecourtyard of
the Belvedere, extending the nucleus of the older Vatican palaces to
the north and connecting them with the pre-existing villa of
Innocent VIII. Though the work was carried forward with great speed,
the scale was so large that on the death of Julius II, in 1513, and
of Bramante himself, in 1514, it was still far from completion. The
project, which continued throughout the 16th century and later,
suffered so many changes that today Bramante's concept is almost
unrecognizable.
Beginning in 1505, at first in competition with two other
architects, Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra Giocondo, Bramante planned
the new Basilica of St. Peter in Rome—his greatest work and one of
the most ambitious building projects up to that date in the history
of mankind. The first stone was placed on April 18, 1506 (after
Bramante's first plan had been rejected by the Pope, according to a
contemporary). The project's site had to be cleared first of the
old, crumbling Basilica of Constantine. Bramante's part in its
demolition earned him the nicknames of “Maestro Ruinante” or
“Maestro Guastante”—“Master Wrecker” or “Master Breaker.” At the
time of his death the new construction had scarcely begun totake
shape.
Named general superintendent of all papal construction, a well-paid
office, Bramante was not only the Pope's principal architect and the
engineer at the service of his military entprises but also his
personal friend. Concurrent with his work on the Belvedere and St.
Peter's, Bramante presented Julius with a highly ambitious plan for
the complete remodelling of the Vatican palaces, which was, however,
set aside.
Despite the grandiose scale of the St. Peter's undertaking, Bramante
continued to work on lesser projects. Between 1505 and 1509 he
carried out an enlargement of the choir of the church of Sta. Maria
del Popolo, some construction work in Castel Sant'Angelo, and a
remodelling of the Rocca di Viterbo. In addition, in 1506, as a
military engineer, he accompanied the Pope to Bologna (where the
grand staircase of the Palazzo degli Anziani has been attributed to
him).
About 1508, when Julius II's new city plan for Rome began to be put
into effect, Bramante played an important role as architect and town
planner. Within the framework of an organic plan, the Via Giulia
(from the Ponte Sisto to the Vatican) was laid out with a large
piazza that was to constitute a centre of activity for the city
government; the Via della Lungara (from the Vatican across
Trastevere to the river port installations of Ripa Grande) was
begun; the Via dei Banchi, on which were erected the offices of the
most important banks of the time, was widened at the entrance of the
Ponte Sant'Angelo; and several streets in the old structure of the
medieval city were modified. On the Via Giulia, Bramante designed a
huge new Palazzo dei Tribunali (1508), incorporating the church of
S. Biagio (1509, also by Bramante). The structure is notable as a
model for 16th-century architecture.
Within the framework of Bramante's overall plan, the basin of the
port was dug out, and a marine fortress was built at Civitavecchia.
The west facade of the Vatican Palace (now the side of the S. Damaso
courtyard) was also constructed according to his design, though it
was later taken up and completed by Raphael. Around the year 1509,
Bramante probably furnished a plan for the church of Roccaverano,
whose facade anticipates certain solutions of the late 16th-century
architect Andrea Palladio.
Another noteworthy design was that of the Palazzo Caprini (House of
Raphael; later destroyed) in the Borgo, which became the model for
many 16th-century palaces. This palazzo was later acquired by
Raphael. According to Vasari, Bramante, around 1509, had designed
the architectural background for the “School of Athens” by Raphael
(1508–11;Vatican, Rome), and in return, Raphael represented Bramante
in the fresco in the guise of Euclid.
After the death of Julius II, Bramante, though elderly and perhaps
in declining health, remained in favour under Pope Leo X. According
to a late and uncertain source, in 1513 he presented to Leo X an
audacious water-control plan for the city, designed to avoid the
periodic floodings of the Tiber. At the end of 1513, however, when
consulted about the cathedral of Foligno (S. Feliciano), he was too
ill to accept thecommission and died the following year. He was
buried in St. Peter's, carried there, according to Vasari, “by the
papal court and by all the sculptors, architects, and painters.”
Personality and interests
Even though he was called unlettered (as were Leonardo, Julius II,
and others), probably because he was ignorant of Latin and Greek,
Bramante must have acquired considerable learning, however
fragmentary. His contemporaries esteemed him not only as an
architect and painter and for his knowledge of perspective but also
as a poet and an amateur musician. He had an almost fanatical
interest in Dante. He also wrote some 20 sonnets on amorous,
humorous, and religious themes, and, though somewhat crude in style,
they are full of spirit.
His theoretical writings, apart from his report on the tiburio of
the Milan cathedral, have all been lost, but their subjects are
indicative of his interests; e.g., works on perspective, on the
“German manner” (i.e., on Gothic architecture), on fortification
methods, and others.
Bramante seems to have been an extrovert. He was said to be very
friendly to persons with talent, and he did much to help them.
Humour, irony, a taste for intelligent jokes, and mockery of himself
as well as others often appear in his sonnets. Full of faith in
himself, he was an irreverent person who took pleasure in proposing
paradoxical ideas. He was critical of priests and courtiers but also
capable of deep religious feeling. In the treacherous atmosphere of
courts, he was able to manoeuvre skillfully. He must have been
highly ambitious and not overscrupulous when it came to securing an
important commission. His biographers emphasize his impatience and
speed in the conception and conduct of his work (Vasari calls him a
“resolute, rapid, and excellent inventor”). This quality was
combined with imaginative genius and an artful and lively curiosity.
His insatiable thirst for experiment and for new knowledge forced
him, as Bramante himself remarks in one of his sonnets, to “change
himself” continually (“as time changes in a moment / my thought, its
follower, changes too”). This trait of instability and inconstancy
seems to have led him away from convention in his works to a
multiplicity of attitudes and expressions. Perhaps these
characteristics indicate a certain dissatisfaction, an inner
melancholy, or a deep sense of solitude. He apparently never married
or had children. In unceasing experiments in his work, he may have
been seeking a remedy for his incurable restlessness.
Arnaldo Bruschi
Encyclopaedia
Britannica
