Leon Battista Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti (14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer. He was very good at many different things and is called a polymath.

Alberti is best known today as an architect, but he worked in many fields. He helped advance mathematics and was deeply involved in the arts. Two of his most famous buildings are the churches of San Sebastiano and Sant'Andrea, both in Mantua. His life and work were written about by Giorgio Vasari in his famous book, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Alberti’s ideas still influence many areas, from building design to secret writing.

Biography

A portrait of Alberti by Filippino Lippi is thought to exist in the Brancacci Chapel, as part of Lippi's completion of the Masaccio painting, the Raising of the Son of Theophilus and St. Peter Enthroned

Leon Battista Alberti was born in 1404 in Genoa. He studied law in Bologna and later joined the service of the papal court in Rome. There, he studied ancient ruins, which sparked his passion for architecture.

Alberti became a skilled writer and architect. His first major work, Della pittura, explored the art of painting. He later designed important buildings, including the façade of the Rucellai Palace in Florence and the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini. He also wrote a famous book on architecture, De re aedificatoria, based on the ideas of the ancient architect Vitruvius. Alberti made many contributions to art, science, and writing during his lifetime.

Publications

Further information: Mathematics and architecture

English title page of the first edition of Giacomo Leoni's translation of Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria (1452) - the book is bilingual, with the Italian version being printed on the left and the English version printed on the right

Leon Battista Alberti thought that math was very important for art and science. In his book Della Pittura (On Painting), he explained how artists could use math to show how things look from different angles. This helped their paintings and buildings look real. He believed that art should copy nature, focusing on beauty and balance.

Alberti also wrote De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building). This big book talked about many subjects, like town planning and design. It became very important for architects later. He also wrote about family life and education in I Libri della famiglia, and a funny play called Momus about gods and myths.

Architectural works

Piazza Pio II in Pienza, looking toward the Palazzo Piccolomini

Leon Battista Alberti was a talented architect. His designs changed buildings in Italy. Only a few of his big projects were built while he was alive, but they show his love for ancient Roman style.

Alberti designed many important buildings. These include the Basilica of Sant'Andrea in Mantua. He started this just before he died. He also designed the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence. Here, he used classical columns and decorations in new ways. In Pienza, he helped plan a town square. His ideas about town layouts are still seen there. Alberti’s work helped change how people thought about architecture during the Renaissance.

Painting

Giorgio Vasari talked more about Leon Battista Alberti’s studies and writing than his art. Though Alberti called himself “We Painters” in his book On Painting, he didn’t make many famous artworks. Jacob Burckhardt thought Alberti was a smart thinker, like the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci.

Some believe Alberti may be in a large painting by Mantegna in the Camera degli Sposi. In a small self-portrait, Alberti looks like an ancient Roman, with a winged eye and a question from the poet Virgil: “Quid tum?” meaning “So what then?”

Contributions and cultural influence

Detail of the façade of Tempio Malatestiano

Leon Battista Alberti made many important contributions to different fields. He wrote about art, architecture, and created the first polyalphabetic cipher, a way to hide messages that people still study today. His book De pictura ("On Painting") explained new ideas about how to show depth in paintings, called perspective. Artists still use these ideas.

Alberti also wrote influential books on architecture and helped shape how buildings were designed. His ideas about art and nature inspired many artists and architects who came after him. He was skilled in many areas, from writing poetry to studying maps, showing his wide interests and talents.

Works in print

A window of the Rucellai Palace

Leon Battista Alberti wrote many important books. One of his famous works is De Pictura from 1435. This book is about painting. He also wrote De re aedificatoria in 1452. This book has ten parts and is about architecture. Another interesting book is De Cifris from 1467. This book is about secret codes. Alberti also wrote about family life and many other topics. His books have been translated into many languages and are still studied today.

Main articles: De Pictura, De Cifris

In popular culture

Leon Battista Alberti appears in Roberto Rossellini's television film The Age of the Medici. The final part focuses on him and his famous works like Santa Maria Novella. He is also mentioned in the 1994 film Renaissance Man, or Army Intelligence, starring Danny DeVito. He is a character in the 2004 book The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. Actor Dr Peter Weller, known for his role in RoboCop, wrote a book about Alberti's influence on early art books. The book links his ideas to his time in cities like Padua, Bologna, and Rome.