stacked-up, shallower layers, each spanned by shorter columns or pilasters. And there is no neater demonstration of recursion than Brunelleschi's at Santo Spirito in Florence, where the domed, four-posted canopy over the altar at the crossing mirrors the domed crossing itself. But the placid elegance of Santo

irito in Florence, where the domed, four-posted canopy over the altar at the crossing mirrors the domed crossing itself. But the placid elegance of Santo Spirito gives us a hint about recursion's unique place in Gothic. As he mastered this radical new aesthetic vocabulary, the Gothic artist wanted his buildin