Palladio and Vasari saw him as the hero of the rediscovery of great classical architecture. Donato Bramante (1444-1514) invented the Renaissance church and palace. But how did he conceive and design his buildings?
In decades of studies Christof Thoenes has honed his interpretation of Bramante’s working methods at the drawing table and he has developed a highly original series of interpretive drawings, made in collaboration with Alina Aggujaro.
With this exhibition the Palladio Museum celebrates the five centenary of the death of Donato Bramante, in collaboration with the Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for the History of Art, the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi and the Fondazione Piero Portaluppi.
There are several exceptional exhibits, such as two drawings in which Palladio studies buildings by Bramante and, especially, Bramante’s autograph design for Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Known as Uffizi 20 A, this sheet changed the world of Western architecture.
The opening of the exhibition will be preceded by the seminar Bramante and historiography from 1500s to 1900s.