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 ...
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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.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Hardcover with dust jacket, tight, pages clear and bright, shelf and edge wear, corners bumped, packaged in cardboard box for shipment, tracking on U.S. orders.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
VG/G+, dj has rubbing wear, wear along edges. Pages clean and tight. Illustrated dj; blue covers, gilt lettering. (xi), 417 pages: illustrations. Contents as follows: I. Who Was Leon Battista Alberti? Making an Identity in the 1430s--II. Humanism: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Scholarship--III. From New Technologies to Fine Arts: Alberti Among the Engineers--IV. On Painting: Alberti and the Origins of Criticism--V. Interpreting Florence: From Reading to Rebuilding--VI. The Artist at Court: Alberti in Ferrara--VII. His Lost City: Alberti the Antiquary--VIII. Alberti on the Art of Building--IX. The Architect and City Planner.
