Although a bronze ball atop a dome may not seem like an architectural feat in the modern day, during the time of da Vinci and his predecessors, it was a major accomplishment. The amount of trial and error, mechanical innovations and time spent on creating the lantern and ball on the Florence Duomo is the epitome of where art met engineering during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci was fortunate enough to be the apprentice of one Andrea del Verrocchio, the man who was commissioned to make the ball for the top of Filippo Brunelleschi’s lantern (Neilson 4).
This commission was like other projects that da Vinci would take on during his own career because of how it combined the disciplines of art, science and engineering. The way Brunelleschi, Verrocchio, da Vinci and others were able to view interdisciplinary problems begs the question “Did these men really see different things when looking at the same sorts of objects? (Kuhn 120).” Although this quote refers to astronomy, the concept still applies to the way these men were able to view problems in a drastically different way than those before them. This characteristic largely describes the essence of the Renaissance itself.
The problem given to Verrocchio was not only did he and his workshop have to design the ball, but hoist it to the top of a 375 foot dome. Verrocchio’s accomplishment with this design earned him the nickname “Verrocchio della Palla,” or “Verrocchio of the Ball” because of the marvel it became in the city of Florence (Feinburg 18). Leonardo da Vinci was fortunate enough to have this man as a mentor, with it being said that this specific project could have stimulated da Vinci’s interest in engineering and mechanical designs. Da Vinci certainly brought together many disciplines during his career, likely being heavily influenced by his predecessors. This is supported by Kuhn’s reflection of the relationship between a student and master when saying “only after a number of such transformations of vision does the student become an inhabitant of the scientist’s world, seeing what the scientist sees and responding as the scientist does,” (Kuhn 111-12). Da Vinci learned from his apprenticeship how to view projects through the lens of many disciplines, taking this approach with him as he went on to other work.
However, before the ball was ever designed, Brunelleschi first had to create the dome, another engineering and design feat that cultivated the interests and expertise of a young Leonardo da Vinci. It is safe to assume that da Vinci also highly respected Brunelleschi because of his sketches concerning the reversible hoist used to assemble the dome. Although he would not have been alive during the construction of the dome itself, how could a man so intrigued by the concept of flight not have admired the architectural achievement said to have “challenged the sky itself” (“On the Lantern”)? Additionally, da Vinci’s work with Verrocchio on the ball topping the lantern lends one to presume that he became very familiar with Brunelleschi’s earlier work on the same structure.
Prior to Verrocchio receiving the commission for the ball, another artist tried and failed to satisfactorily accomplish the task (Neilson 1). Neilson continued, saying the process of creating the ball was discussed at length before Verrocchio’s successful attempt, and this produced the method of using the finest copper possible to cast a ball over two tons and eight feet in diameter (2). It took three days for the workers to hoist and secure the ball and even more time for them to add the cross on top (“On the Lantern”). Once this was completed, the top of the Florence Duomo became the highest point in the city (“On the Lantern”). With da Vinci’s affinity for human flight, one must assume he dreamed of the view from the top of this point, if he never saw it for himself.
Following this experience of collaborating with Verrocchio on the ball, da Vinci completed his apprenticeship and began taking on his own projects. Once he came into his own, it is clear he lived up to his idea that “Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master,” (“Leonardo”). Da Vinci clearly surpassed Verrocchio as he continued his career and brought together many disciplines in ways no one else had considered. However, it is known that this specific achievement left a lasting impression on him because of his reference to it nearly 40 years later saying, “Remember the solders used for soldering the ball on Santa Maria del Fiore,” (“On the Lantern”). He clearly was present for the hoisting and attachment of the ball after its completion and likely experienced the recorded singing of the Te Deum by Florentines when it was finally in place (Neilson 2). To this day, the dome atop Verrocchio’s ball sits is still the tallest in the world, having been ideated by men over 600 years ago.
Sources:
Feinberg, Larry J. The Young Leonardo: Art and Life in Fifteenth-Century Florence. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The University of Chicago Press, 2015.
“Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebook.” The British Library, The British Library, 20 Jan. 2015, http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/leonardo-da-vinci-notebook.
Neilson, Christina. Practice and Theory in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Verrocchio and the Epistemology of Making Art. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
“On the Lantern.” Erenow , Erenow, erenow.net/biographies/leonardo-da-vinci-the-flights-of-the-mind/15.php.
Italy: Imagined & Realized 