History of art: RenaissanceFilippo Brunelleschi was one of the greatest sculptors and architects of the Renaissance. His architectural achievements consist of some of the best known and most impressive structures not only of the Renaissance, but of today. Not only were his structures extraordinary, but during his time he also invented new technology that would allow his structures to be built. What would happen if Brunelleschi had never designed the architecture? We would have lost his inventions, his structures and all the work he inspired in other artists. Brunelleschi's professional path changed from sculpture to architecture after his defeat against Ghiberti during the competition for the Eastern Doors of the Florentine Baptistery. If Brunelleschi had won that competition, architecture and art in the Renaissance, and even today, would have been negatively affected. To understand how Brunelleschi became the artist he is, it is necessary to look back at his childhood. Brunelleschi, in his youth, was proving that he was already capable of great things. His great-great-grandfather was an expert doctor, so we can see evidence of technical skills passed down there. Brunelleschi's father tried to push him into various career paths that did not involve art, such as being a doctor and a notary, but Brunelleschi showed little interest and was more attracted to manual labor, art, and things of greater utility. Usefulness by definition is the quality or state of being useful. Ultimately we will see many useful things come from Brunelleschi. His father realized that his son would do what he wanted, so he introduced him to a goldsmith where he learned to set stones and work with metal, which he quickly learned and grew distant from. Then he moved... to the center of the sheet... I never discovered the secret of linear perspective, which was then used not only by architects, but also by painters, as in the fresco of the Holy Trinity by Masaccio in 1427. All any art that was ever inspired by Brunelleschi would not be here today. Brunelleschi narrowly lost the competition for the eastern doors of the Baptistery, and that may have been the most decisive moment of the Renaissance. Annotated bibliography Paatz, Walter. The arts of the Italian Renaissance: painting, sculpture, architecture. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1974. Partridge, Loren W.. Renaissance Art in Rome, 1400-1600. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. Turner, Richard. Renaissance Florence: the invention of a new art. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1997. Vasari, Giorgio. Lives of painters, sculptors and architects. London, Toronto: JM Dent, 1927.