Ritratto di emilio de fabris, egisto sarri 1899 circa

Emilio De Fabris (28 October 1808 – 3 June 1883) was an Italian architect best known for his design of the west facade of

Santa Maria del Fiore Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

, Florence. De Fabris was born in Florence, Italy. He initially studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, then traveled to Rome, where he met the archeologist

Antonio Nibby Antonio Nibby (October 4, 1792 at Rome – December 29, 1839 at Rome) was an Italian archaeologist and topographer. Nibby was a critic of the history of ancient art and from 1812 in service to the Vatican worked to excavate the monuments of ...

and to Venice where he met the historian and art-critic Pietro Selvatico. In 1857–1860, he helped design, alongside Michelangelo Maiorfi, the Palazzo della Borsa in Florence. He was professor at the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts and Architect to the Opera di Santa Croce.

Work on the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

The original facade design for

, by

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

, was found outdated for the cathedral and so a series of three competitions was held to modify Giotto's original design, keeping with the main lines of the structure. The challenge for the competition was to create a facade which brought together two periods in architecture: the Gothic style, which had faded out, and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style, which was more recent. In 1871, Fabris' design won, and he immediately went to work embellishing the cathedral with red, green, and white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. Fabris died in 1883.

References

*Fanelli, Giovanni, and Michele Fanelli. ''Brunelleschi's Cupola.'' Florence: Mandragora s.r.l., 2004. Print. *''Emilio De Fabris' Life work.'' July 29, 1883. Copyright, The New York Times. Website. Date of access: 09/26/2010

External links

A Case Study on Florence Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabris, Emilio De 1808 births 1883 deaths 19th-century Italian architects