Donato Bramante
Artist and Architect
About Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante was born around 1444, but it is uncertain exactly when. He was born in Urbino, Italy. He spent most of his time in Milan and Rome. He was a student of Piero Della Francesca. He also possibly trained with Mantegna for perspective painting. He worked with Leonardo DaVinci while in Milan. Bramante was an architect, a painter, and wrote a few sonnets. Some of his paintings include Man with a broadsword, Man with Halberg, and Christ at the Column. A few of his architectural masterpieces include San Pietro, Pigna Courtyard, Santa Maria Delle Grazie, and so on. His patrons included pope Julius II and the Sforza family. Nothing is known about his first 30 years of life. His paintings were influenced by his father. He did not stay in one area for a very long time and moved around a lot. Donato Bramante is most closely linked to classicism and illusionism because that was what a lot of his works were, including domes, for example, the Santa Maria Della Grazie; displaying illusionism on the inside of the dome, and using pillars and arches; displaying classicism.
Bramante´s Work
The Vatican Spiral Staircase
This piece is found in The Vatican City in Italy. It was created around 1505. I find this work of art interesting because it looks very cool and I like the way the fancy and classical columns for support. This is a great representation of Classicism. This is because it has many columns. These columns are influenced by the ancient Roman times. The staircase is also perfectly symmetrical, just like the classical time before him. Also, because the staircase is spiral there needed to be mathematical ratios and calculations for the staircase to end on the correct side. This was not the first spiral staircase, for they were made in ancient greece and rome.
Works Cited
"Donato Bramante." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
"Donato Bramante." International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture. Gale 1993. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
"Donato Bramante." Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam- Webster, 1995. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.