The first book in the English language to examine the major literary works of Leon Battista Alberti in Latin and Italian, often overshadowed by his achievements in architecture. Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) was one of the most prolific and original creators of the Italian Renaissance—a fact often overshadowed by his more distinguished successes as an art theorist and architect, as well as by the mythology of Alberti as a "Renaissance Man" by Jacob Burckhardt. In this book, Martin McLaughlin counters this limited view of Alberti, considering him more broadly as a writer dedicated to literature and humanism, a major protagonist and experimenter in the literary scene of the early Renaissance in Italy. McLaughlin, a recognized expert on Alberti, examines all of Alberti's major works in Latin and the Italian dialect and analyzes his vast knowledge of classical texts and culture.
McLaughlin begins with what we know about Alberti's life, comparing the facts presented in his autobiography with the myth created in the nineteenth century by Burckhardt, before moving on to his extremely broad knowledge of classical texts. He then focuses on Alberti's works, tracing his development as a writer through texts ranging from an early comedy in Latin successfully presented as the work of a fictional ancient author, to philosophical dialogues written in the Italian dialect (a revolutionary choice at the time); humorous texts in Latin, including the first novel in this language since antiquity; and the famous treatises on painting and architecture. McLaughlin also examines the impressive range of Alberti's ancient sources and how this reading influenced his writing; what the humanist read, he argues, often explains what he wrote, and what he wrote reflected his relentless work ethic and pursuit of originality.
Pages: 400, Dimensions: 14x14cm
