Leon Battista Alberti: Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance - Softcover

Grafton, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674008685 ISBN 13: 9780674008687

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was one of the most exciting figures of the Italian Renaissance. He wrote the first modern treatise on painting, the first modern manual of classical architecture, and a powerful set of "dialogues" about the princely families of Florence. But Alberti also made his own spectacular advances in the art of painting and in engineering, and was responsible for some of the most exciting architectural designs in Italy.

In this volume, one of our most distinguished Renaissance scholars offers the superlative biography and cultural history that Alberti has long deserved. It is a compelling portrait of a mysterious and original intellectual.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"A convincing and engaging account of Alberti's intellectual milieu in what is arguably the most important general contribution to Albertian studies of recent decades." --Bruce Boucher, The New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Grafton draws the most convincing portrait to date of Alberti as a man in a social environment . . . Mr. Grafton's explanation of how Alberti mastered so many fields has a special relevance to our own age." --Jack M. Greenstein, The Wall Street Journal

"[This] book is an admirably clear-headed look at Alberti's creative endeavors; it is hard to think of any other writer who might have done it better." --Publishers Weekly

"This wholly absorbing account . . . will appeal to serious general readers as well as specialists." --Ellen Bates, Library Journal

About the Author:

Anthony Grafton is Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0674008685
• ISBN 13: 9780674008687
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432