Earth and Space News: Filippo Brunelleschi Shared Similar Egg Tale With Christopher Columbus

Summary: Florentine Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi shared a similar egg balancing anecdote with Age of Discovery explorer Christopher Columbus.

"Filippo Brunelleschi fà la prova dell'uovo" (Filippo Brunelleschi does the egg test), 1845 (or 1878) oil on canvas by Giuseppe Fattori (1818-1888); Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany, Central Italy: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Florentine Renaissance architect, engineer, goldsmith and sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi shared a similar egg balancing anecdote with Age of Discovery explorer Christopher Columbus, with Brunelleschi's egg performance predating Columbus's feat by approximately seven and one-third decades.

In 1420, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-April 15, 1446), known as Pippo, gained acceptance for his unique, radical solution to the seemingly impossible project of doming the Florence Cathedral and thereby received the commission for the project. Brunelleschi strategized a dare to his rivals that whoever could stand an egg upright on smooth marble should be encharged with the project, as such a feat would reveal the achiever's ingenuity. No one succeeded. Brunelleschi then gracefully took the egg, gave a blow to one end on the marble and thereby balanced the egg upright ("egli con grazia lo preſe, & datoli un colpo del culo in ſul piano del marmo, lo fece ſtar' ritto"; page 308), according to Italian Renaissance polymath Giorgio Vasari (July 30, 1511-June 27, 1574) in his encyclopedia of artistic biographies, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects), first published in 1550.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), known as Duomo di Firenze (Florence's Dome), viewed from Piazzale Michelangelo, Oltrarno ("beyond the Arno") district, Florence (Српски/srpski: Поглед на цркву Санта Марија дел Фјоре у Фиренци са хриба Михеланђело, који се налази на другој страни реке Арно); Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, 18:50: Petar Milošević (PetarM), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Brunelleschi's journey to his architectural masterpiece traces back to a disappointment-motivated career change. In 1401, Brunelleschi participated in a competition for the sculpted design of doors for the Florence Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni; Baptistry of Saint John). The competition themed Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac (Hebrew: עֲקֵידַת יִצְחַק, ʿAqēḏaṯ Yīṣḥaq, "The Binding of Isaac"), presented in chapter 22 of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament's Book of Genesis, as the subject for the doors. The competition's jury suggested collaboration between the two finalists, Filippo Brunelleschi and Florentine Early Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (born Lorenzo di Bartolo; 1378-Dec. 1, 1455). Upon Brunelleschi's decline of shared creativity, the commission was awarded to Ghiberti (Vasari, pages 297-300).

After withdrawing from the Florence Baptistry project, Brunelleschi decided to abandon sculpture and Florence in favor of architecture and Rome. Two purposes guided his extensive studies of architecture in Rome and the surrounding Roman Campana (campana, "countryside, level field"). Brunelleschi aimed to replace the current Gothic style with the architecture of Roman antiquity and to raise the dome designed for placement over the three-bayed crossing of Florence's Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower; Florence Cathedral). The cupola envisioned in a brick model by the cathedral's first architect (1294-1302), Tuscan architect Arnolfo di Cambio (ca. 1245-ca. 1300/1310), had challenged its construction and placement since the death of di Cambio, called Arnolfo Todesco (Arnolfo the German) by Vasari (page 300).

In 1407, the Superintendents (Operai) of Santa Maria del Fiore and Syndics of the Guild of Wool-Workers (i consoli dell'arte della lana) assembled architects and engineers for consultation on constructing and topping the cathedral's dome. Brunelleschi suggested solving the problems with an alternative design (Vasari, page 301).

Ten years later, the Superintendents and Syndics invited Brunelleschi to depart Rome for Florence to revisit the dome's completion. They presented all the difficulties, from greatest to smallest ("tutte le difficoltà da la maggiore a la minore", Vasari, page 303). Brunelleschi suggested setting a date in one year for an assemblage of architects in Florence for the purpose of selecting the best solution to the dome project. He proposed expanding the participants, beyond Tuscany and the rest of Italy, to include France, Germany and all nations ("spendere & ordinare che fra un anno di tempo, a un di determinato venghino in Fiorenza architettori, nõ ſolo Toſcani & Italiani, ma Todeſchi, & Franzeſi, & d'ogni nazione, & proporre loro queſto lavoro, che diſputato & riſoluto fra tanti maeſtri; ſi cominci, ſi dia a colui che più direttamente darà nel segno, o arà meglior modo & giudizio, per fare tale opera"; Vasari, page 304).

The syndics and wardens were pleased with Brunelleschi's advice and ideas. Yet, they preferred to base decisions upon a model prepared by him. Brunelleschi declined constructing a model and indicated the necessity of his return to Rome. The syndics and wardens sought to persuade Brunelleschi to remain in Florence by influencing his friends to convince him. Also, according to the project's records, a payment was issued to Brunelleschi on May 26, 1417. Nevertheless, Brunelleschi returned to Rome.

In 1420, Brunelleschi, along with master architects summoned from Tuscany, England, France, Germany and Spain, assembled in Florence. The participants presented their proposals before an audience comprised of syndics, wardens and a "choice selection of the most ingenious citizens" ("Venne l'anno MCCCCXX che furono ragunati in Fiorenza tutti queſti maequeſttri oltra montani; & coqueſti quelli del la Toſcana: & tutti gli ingegnoqueſi Artefici di diſegno Fiorentini, & coqueſti Filippo tornò da Roma. Ragunaronòſi dunque tutti nella opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, preſsenti i conſoli, & gli operai; inſieme con una ſcelta di Cittadini, i piu ingegnoſi, che udiſsino ſopra queſto caſo l'animo di ciaſcuno"; Vasari, page 305).

Proposals advocated difficult and expensive methods of supporting the dome's weight with a plethora of either wood or of earth. Brunelleschi was ridiculed for his unique proposal of double vaulting and no framework.

During a period of estrangement from the synics and wardens, Brunelleschi overcame his rejection-fueled dejection by seeking support through individual conversations with citizens, syndics and wardens. His strategy succeeded in securing a request for his reappearance in the assembly.

Rival architects and the project's panel of judges expected Brunelleschi to produce a model and to explain his proposal in detail. Thus arose the dispute about the egg ("dove ſi dice che nacque la diſputa dell'huovo in queſta forma"; Vasari, page 307).

a modern depiction of the anecdote of explorer Christopher Columbus and the Egg; Columbi ägg, 1924 watercolor by Swedish Post-Impressionist painter Nils Dardel (full name: Nils Elias Kristofer von Dardel; Oct. 25, 1888-May 25, 1943), also known as Nils de Dardel: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Brunelleschi's apocryphal egg symbolism predates a similar anecdote attributed to late 15th-century to early 16th-century explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus (Catalan: Cristòfor Colom; Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; ca. 1446/1451-May 20, 1506). Brunelleschi's egg anecdote preceded his achievement as the architect of the Florence Cathedral's dome. Contrastingly, the apocryphal Columbian egg feat followed his achievement. Columbus reportedly balanced his egg in 1493 after returning from his first trans-Atlantic voyage.

Columbus's egg tale firstly appeared in print in 1565, 15 years after Vasari's reportage of Brunelleschi's upright egg. Milanese Italian merchant and traveller Girolamo Benzoni (1519-1570) described the event (pages 12-13) in Historia del Mondo Nuovo, published in Venice in 1565. American biography, short story writer and statesman Washington Irving (April 3, 1783-Nov. 28, 1859) related the egg anecdote in the first volume (pages 432-433) of his bestselling, four-volume Columbus biography, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, published in 1828.

interior view of Brunelleschi's Dome; ceiling decorated with The Last Judgment begun in fresco ("in fresh"; i.e., wet plaster) by Italian Renaissance polymath and Filippo Brunelleschi biographer Giorgio Vasari (July 30, 1511-June 27, 1574) and completed in secco ("in dry"; i.e., dry plaster) by Italian Mannerist painter and architect Federico Zuccari (ca. 1539-July 20, 1609), assisted by Italian painter Bartolomeo Carducci (1560-Nov. 14, 1608), late Renaissance or Counter-Maniera painter Domenico Passignano (born Domenico Cresti or Crespi; January 1559-May 17, 1638) and Florentine painter Stefano Pieri (1542-Jan. 13, 1629); Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016, 17:17: Livioandronico2013, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Bonagura, Cristina. "Fattori Giuseppe." Dizionario degli artisti. Istituto Matteucci (Matteucci Institute) > Dictionary of Artists.
Available via Istituto Matteucci @ http://www.istitutomatteucci.it/en/dictionary-of-artists/fattori-giuseppe

Claas Felcuss Turinoti @LegereTacite. "All the competitors including Ghiberti tried to make it stand by balancing and could not find a way. Brunelleschi took the egg and delicately hit one end of it on the flat piece of marble, making it stand upright. The others protested that they could have done the same . . ." Twitter. June 2, 2022.
Available via Twitter @ https://twitter.com/LegereTacite/status/1532436462494437378

De Vere, Gaston du C. "What Filippo, therefore, had not been able to achieve before the tribunal, he began to effect with individuals, talking now to a Consul, now to a Warden, and likewise to many citizens; and showing them part of his design, he induced them to determine to allot this work either to him or to one of the foreigners. Wherefore the Consuls, the Wardens of Works, and those citizens, regaining courage, assembled together, and the architects disputed concerning this matter, but all were overcome and conquered by Filippo with many arguments; and here, so it is said, there arose the dispute about the egg, in the following manner. They would have liked Filippo to speak his mind in detail, and to show his model, as they had shown theirs; but this he refused to do, proposing instead to those masters, both the foreign and the native, that whosoever could make an egg stand upright on a flat piece of marble should build the cupola, since thus each man's intellect would be discerned. Taking an egg, therefore, all those masters sought to make it stand upright, but not one could find the way. Whereupon Filippo, being told to make it stand, took it graciously, and, giving one end of it a blow on the flat piece of marble, made it stand upright. The craftsmen protested that they could have done the same; but Filippo answered, laughing, that they could also have raised the cupola, if they had seen the model or the design. And so it was resolved that he should be commissioned to carry out this work, and he was told that he must give fuller information about it to the Consuls and the Wardens of Works." Page 209. "Life of Filippo Brunelleschi [Filippo di Ser Brunellesco] Sculptor and Architect," pages 193-237. Gaston du C. De Vere, trans., Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects by Giorgio Vasari. In ten volumes. Vol. II Berna to Michelozzo Michelozzi. London: Philip Lee Warner, 1912.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/livesofmostemine02vasauoft/page/195/mode/1up
Available via Project Gutenberg @ https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/25759/pg25759-images.html#Page_209

Foster, Mrs. Jonathan (Eliza Vere). Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects: Translated From the Italian of Giorgio Vasari; With Notes and Illustrations, Chiefly Selected From Various Commentators. Vol. I. Part Second, "The Florentine Sculptor and Architect Filippo Brunelleschi [Born 1377-Died 1446]," pages 413-468. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002181126f?urlappend=%3Bseq=431%3Bownerid=13510798899711800-449
Available via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002181126f&view=1up&seq=431
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/livesofmostemine01vasa/page/413/mode/1up

Foster, Mrs. Jonathan (Eliza Vere). "What Filippo therefore could not effect before the tribunal, he began to attempt with individuals, and talking apart now with a syndic, now with a warden, and again with different citizens, showing moreover certain parts of his design; he thus brought them at length to resolve on confiding the conduct of his work, either to him or to one of the foreign architects. Hereupon, the syndics, the wardens, and the citizens, selected to be judges in the matter, having regained courage, gathered together once again, and the architects disputed respecting the matter before them; but all were put down and vanquished on sufficient grounds by Filippo, and here it is said that the dispute of the egg arose, in the manner following. The other architects desired that Filippo should explain his purpose minutely, and show his model as they had shown theirs. This he would not do, but proposed to all the masters, foreigners and compatriots, that he could make an egg stand upright on a piece of smooth marble, should be appointed to build the cupola, since in doing that, his genius would be made manifest. They took an egg accordingly, and all those masters did their best to make it stand upright, but none discovered the method of doing so. Wherefore, Filippo, being told that he might make it stand himself, took it daintily into his hand, gave the end of it a blow on the plane of the marble, and made it stand upright. Beholding this, the artists loudly protested, exclaiming, that they could all have done the same; but Filippo replied, laughing, that they might also know how to construct the cupola, if they had seen the model and design. It was thus at length resolved that Filippo should receive the charge of conducting the work, but he was told that he must furnish the syndics and wardens with more exact information." Pages 431-432. Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects: Translated From the Italian of Giorgio Vasari; With Notes and Illustrations, Chiefly Selected From Various Commentators. Vol. I. Part Second, "The Florentine Sculptor and Architect Filippo Brunelleschi [Born 1377-Died 1446]," pages 413-468. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002181126f?urlappend=%3Bseq=449%3Bownerid=13510798899711800-469
Available via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002181126f&view=1up&seq=449
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/livesofmostemine01vasa/page/431/mode/1up

Haines, Margaret. "Brunelleschi and Bureaucracy: The Tradition of Public Patronage at the Florentine Cathedral." I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, vol. 3 (1989): 89-125.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/4603662

Irving, Washington. "Next in importance to the protection shown him by the king and queen, may be mentioned that of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the Grand Cardinal of Spain, and first subject of the realm; a man whose elevated character for piety, learning, and high prince-like qualities, gave signal value to his favours. He invited Columbus to a banquet, where he assigned him the most honourable place at table, and had him served with the ceremonies which, in those punctilious times, were observed towards sovereigns. At this repast is said to have occurred the well-known anecdote of the egg. A shallow courtier present, impatient of the honours paid to Columbus, and meanly jealous of him as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether he thought that, in case he had not discovered the Indies, there were not other men who would have been capable of the enterprise. To this, Columbus made no immediate reply, but, taking an egg, invited the company to make it stand upon one end. Every one attempted it, but in vain, whereupon he struck it upon the table so as to break the end, and left it standing on the broken part; illustrating, in this simple manner, that when he had once shown the way to the New World, nothing was easier than to follow it.*" Pages 431-433. A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. In four volumes. Vol. I. Chapter VII Sojourn of Columbus at Barcelona. Attentions Paid him by the Sovereigns and Courtiers," pages 427-435. London: John Murray, MDCCCXXVIII [1828].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/historyoflifeand01irviiala/page/432/mode/1up

Irving, Washington. "*This anecdote rests on the authority of the Italian historian Benzoni (l. i., p. 12, ed. Venetia, 1572). It has been condemned as trivial, but the simplicity of the reproof constituted its severity, and was characteristic of the practical sagacity of Columbus. The universal popularity of the anecdote is a proof of its merit." Page 433. A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. In four volumes. Vol. I. Chapter VII Sojourn of Columbus at Barcelona. Attentions Paid him by the Sovereigns and Courtiers," pages 427-435. London: John Murray, MDCCCXXVIII [1828].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/historyoflifeand01irviiala/page/433/mode/1up

Marriner, Derdriu. "Christopher Columbus Analogized First Indies Voyage to Egg Balancing." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/christopher-columbus-analogized-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Christopher Columbus's Wife Was Madeiran But Was He Really Genoese?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/christopher-columbuss-wife-was-madeiran.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Columbus's Ombu Tree From Indies Flourishes at La Cartuja in Seville." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/columbuss-ombu-tree-from-indies.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Ferdinand Columbus Biographized His Father as Italian But Born Where?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/ferdinand-columbus-biographized-his.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Is May 1506 Columbus Military Codicil in Prayer Book Found 1780 Fake?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/is-may-1506-columbus-military-codicil.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Lombardy Associates With Columbus and His Wife's Great-Grandparents." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/lombardy-associates-with-columbus-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "May 1506 Prayer Book Codicil Mismatches Columbus's Usual Signature." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/may-1506-prayer-book-codicil-mismatches.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Missing Half or Third of Columbus's Personal Papers Includes 1502 Will." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/missing-half-or-third-of-columbuss.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Possible Columbus Grandfather João Gonçalves Zarco Discovered Madeira." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/possible-columbus-grandfather-joao.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Second of Four Columbus Wills Likely Was Genuine But Has Disappeared." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/second-of-four-columbus-wills-likely.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Secrets & Lies Finds Duke of Beja Perhaps Fathered Christopher Columbus." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/secrets-lies-finds-duke-of-beja-perhaps.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Sleepy Hollow's Washington Irving Wrote Columbus Bestseller in 1828." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/sleepy-hollows-washington-irving-wrote.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Statue in Cuba, Portugal, Honors Columbus as Salvador Fernandes Zarco." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/statue-in-cuba-portugal-honors-columbus.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Trail of 1502 Columbus Will Confuses After 1578 Removal From Monastery." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/trail-of-1502-columbus-will-confuses.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Washington Irving Assessed 1506 Columbus Military Codicil as Authentic." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/washington-irving-assessed-1506.html

Savage, Charles C. [Cassee]. "Among many others of the grandees of Spain, Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, the grand cardinal of Spain, invited Columbus to a banquet. He gave him the most honorable place at table, and, notwithstanding etiquette to its fullest extent was at that time punctiliously observed, he served him with ceremonies which were observed toward sovereigns. It was at that banquet that the anecdote of the egg is said to have occurred, which scene is graphically delineated in our engraving. A courier who was present, possessing more impudence than wit, and jealous of Columbus because he was a foreigner, and so highly honored by his master, abruptly asked him whether he thought that, in case he had not discovered the Indies, there were not other men who would have been capable of the enterprise. Columbus, looking with proper contempt upon the fellow, deigned no reply, but, taking an egg, invited the company to make it stand upon one end. All attempted it, but in vain, whereupon he struck it upon the table so as to break the end, and left it standing upon the broken part. This, in the most simple manner, illustrated the fact that when he had once shown the way to the New World, it was a very easy thing to follow. The rebuke was felt, and the courtier held his peace. 'This anecdote,' says Irving, 'rests on the authority of the Italian historian Benzoni. It has been condemned as trivial, but the simplicity of the reproof constituted its severity, and was characteristic of the practical sagacity of Columbus. The universal popularity of the anecdote is a proof of its merit.'" Page 81. Illustrated biography; or, Memoirs of the Great and the Good of All Nations and All Times; Comprising Sketches of Eminent Statesmen, Philosophers, Heroes, Artists, Reformers, Philanthropists, Mechanics, Navigators, Authors, Poets, Divines, Soldiers, Savans, Etc. "Christopher Columbus," pages 76-83. Buffalo: Phinney & Co.; New York: Ivison & Phinney, 1856.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/illustratedbiogr00sava/page/81/mode/1up

Savage, Charles C. [Cassee]. "Christopher Columbus." Pages 76-83. Illustrated biography; or, Memoirs of the Great and the Good of All Nations and All Times; Comprising Sketches of Eminent Statesmen, Philosophers, Heroes, Artists, Reformers, Philanthropists, Mechanics, Navigators, Authors, Poets, Divines, Soldiers, Savans, Etc. Embellished by Two Hundred and Fifty Portraits and Engravings. Buffalo: Phinney & Co.; New York: Ivison & Phinney, 1856.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/illustratedbiogr00sava/page/76/mode/1up

Vasari, Giorgio. "Et cominciato in diſparte a favellare ora a queſto Conſolo ora a quello operaio, & ſimilmente a molti Cittadini, moſtrando parte del ſuo diſegno, gli riduſſe che ſi deliberarono a fare allogazione di queſta opera o a lui o a uno di que’ foreſtieri. Per la qual coſa, inanimiti i consoli e gli operai & quei Cittadini, ſi ragunarono tutti inſieme, & gli Architetti diſputarono di queſta materia; ma furon, con ragioni aſſai, tutti abbattuti & vinti da Filippo, dove ſi dice che nacque la diſputa dell’huovo in queſta forma. Egli arebbono voluto che Filippo aveſſe detto l’animo ſuo minutamente, & moſtro il ſuo modello, come avevano moſtri eſsi modelli e diſegni loro il: che non volſe fare, ma propoſe queſto a’ maeſtri & foreſtieri & terrazzani, che chi fermaſſe in ſur un' marmo piano un' uovo ritto, quello faceſſe la cupola, che quivi ſi vedrebbe lo ingegno loro. Fù tolto uno uovo, & da tutti que’ maeſtri provato a farlo ſtar ritto, neſſuno ſapeva il modo. Fù da loro detto a Filippo che’ lo fermaſſe & egli con grazia lo preſe, & datoli un colpo del culo in ſul piano del marmo, lo fece ſtar' ritto. Romoreggiando gl’artefici che ſimilmente arebbono fatto eſsi, ripoſe loro Filippo ridendo che egli averebbono ancora ſaputo voltare, la Cupola, vedendo il modello, o il diſegno. Et coſi fù riſoluto che egli aveſsi carico di queſta opera, & ne informaſſe meglio i Conſoli, & gli operai." Pages 307-308. Le vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani, da Cimabue insino a' tempi nostri. Seconda parte; "Filippo Brunelleschi Scultore et Architetto,' pages 291-332. Firenze: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1550.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.it/books?id=aHFUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA307#v=onepage&q&f=false
Available via Wikisource @ https://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Le_vite_de'_più_eccellenti_pittori,_scultori_e_architettori_(1550)/Filippo_Brunelleschi

Vasari, Giorgio. "Quello dunque, che Filippo non haveva potuto fare nel Magistrato, cominciò a trattar in disparte, favellando hor'a queſta Conſolo, hora a quello operaio & ſimilmente a molti cittadini; moſtrando parte del ſuo diſsegno, gli riduſſe, che ſi deliberarono a fare allogazione di queſta opera, o a lui, o a uno di que'ſoreſtieri. Per la qual coſa inanimiti i Conſoli, & gli Operai, & que'cittadini, ſi ragunarono tutti inſieme, & gli Architetti diſputarono di queſta materia; ma furon con ragioni aſſai tutti abbattuti, & vinti da Filippo: dove ſi dice, che nacque la diſputa dell'uovo in qſta forma. Eglino harebbono voluto, che Filippo haveſſe detto l'animo ſuo minutamente, & moſtro il ſuo modello, come haucuano moſtro eſſi, il loro: il che non volle fare, ma propoſe queſto a'maeſtri, & foreſtieri, & terrazzani, che chi fermaſſe in ſur un marmo piano, un'uovo ritto, quello faceſſe la Cupola, che qui vi ſi vedrebbe l'ingegno loro. Tolto dunque un'uovo, tutti que'maeſtri ſi provarono, per farlo ſtar ritto, ma neſſuno trovò il modo. Onde eſſendo detto a Filippo, che'lo fermaſſe, egli con grazia lo preſe, e datoli un colpo del culo in ſul piano del marmo, lo fece ſtar ritto. Romoreggiando gl'artefici, che ſimilmente harebbono ſaputo fare eſſi, riſpoſe loro Filippo ridendo, che gli harebbono ancora ſaputo voltare la Cupola, vedendo il modello, o il diſegno. Et coſi fu riſoluto, ch'egli haveſſe carico di condurre queſta opera, e dettoli, che ne informaſſe meglio i Conſoli, e gli Operai." Pages 309-310. "Vita di Filippo Brunelleschi Scultore e Architetto," pages 301-326. Le vite de' piu eccellenti pittori, scvltori, et architettori. Primo volume, seconda parte. Fiorenza: Appresso i Giunti, 1568.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/levitedepiveccel01vasa/page/309/mode/1up

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