Leonardo's temple, second part (17th of April, 2010)

Plan of the 3D model of Leonardo temple

Time does fly and it has already been four months since I announced the making of 3D model and a PovRay scene of the temple according to Leonardo's sketches. The interest for the project has already left me a bit and I return to the project rarely. That is why this is perhaps the time to write down where it all came in the meantime. In the image above one can see Leonardo's plan of the temple and my 3D model. There are obvious similarities, but also some differences, particularly in the part that connects the entry to the temple with its main dome. The differences were made on purpose after a study of many other Leonardo sketches, but also the architecture of the time. Particularly interesting are the differences in small domes surrounding the main dome, where the Leonardo's sketch suggests geometry that is somewhat different from the one I constructed. The reason for that is that Leonardo's small domes are not spherical, but ellipsoidal (see below).

3D model of Leonardo temple, detail of the plan

Therefore, the small domes that can be fitted in Leonardo's geometry are smaller than he predicted.

The look of the temple in 3D perspective projection, with the camera set up outside the temple is shown in the image below, together with Leonardo's sketch of the temple. One should note that the viewpoint chosen by Leonardo hides the entry to the temple.

perspective view of Leonardo's temple

It is possible that the original Leonardo's idea was to make the small domes in the shape of a cone and not a half-sphere as I made them. Analysis of other Leonardo's sketches (see the previous post on Leonardo's temple) reassured me to abandon the idea of a conical dome, esspecially because Leonardo's sketches are not entirely clear and it seems from the parts of the sketch that he was simultaneously testing the ideas of conical and spherical dome.

There are spaces for rosettes and windows left on the model. The construction of resettes that will be fitten to the model was described in a previous post. The spaces where Leonardo positioned statues were also left empty and I intend to fit there structures similar to "Leonardo's hair" described in a previous post. The image below shows the view on the temple from the position of observer that is just entering.

entering Leonardo's temple

And here is the view from the interior of the temple towards its roof (main dome; below). I also have clear ideas for the continuation of the project. Of course, texture and rendering, making of the landscape around the temple, atmosphere, light, it is all a special story that connects to the 3D model shown here. And that's it for this post.

inside Leonardo's temple

UPDATE: (5th of December, 2010): You can see how this project was finished in the final post from this series, >> Leonardo's temple, third part.

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Last updated on 17th of April 2010.