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

Grafton, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809097524 ISBN 13: 9780809097524

Publisher: Hill and Wang, 2000

Synopsis

A lucid biographical study of a key figure of European culture

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72) was one of the most original, creative, and 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 that dominated his home city of Florence. He rediscovered the forgotten aesthetics of classical architecture and described, in incomparably vivid terms, the artistic revolution in Florence that began what we now call the Renaissance. But Alberti was more than a mere chronicler--he practiced what he preached. He made spectacular advances in the art of painting and in engineering, and as an architect he was responsible for some of the most exciting buildings in Italy. Yet in spite of his central importance, work on Alberti has for the most part been confined to scholarly monographs. Here, one of our greatest Renaissance scholars offers the general book that Alberti has so long deserved. This is a compelling portrait of a mysterious, original, and highly unusual intellectual, and a colorful tableau of the cities and courts in which he lived and worked.

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, Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University, is the author of many books, including, most recently, The Footnote: A Curious History. He lives in Princeton.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hill and Wang
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0809097524
• ISBN 13: 9780809097524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 417