BOOKS: Leon Battista Alberti

St. Andrea Church in Mantova by Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti is little known today outside of scholarly circles__yet he was one of the most creative and exciting figures of the Italian Renaissance__the very definition of the "Renaissance Man" and one of the prime movers and builders of the Italian Renaissance. Most of what we know today of Alberti was crafted by the 19th century historian Jacob Burckhardt in his famous and well regarded book: "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy." Burckhardt idealized Alberti and with unforgettable brilliance and pathos depicted Alberti as a combination of mental genius and athlete__the ultimate medieval courtier. In Anthony Grafton's, "Leon Battista Alberti Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance."(2000), Burckhardt portrait of Alberti seems to have been confirmed. Modern research has indeed confirmed that Alberti was the ultimate, "Universal Man." His achievements are astounding__ he achieved mastery in literature, architecture, sculpture, urban planning, engineering, mathematics, cryptography, archaeology, cartography, politics and social theory, to name "literally" a few. He was in a real sense the "master builder of the Renaissance." What accounted for his ability to achieve in all these fields? Was it fable? Grafton in this finely written book attempts to document that most of what was believed about Alberti and his achievements was true. Still in the specialized realm of "Alberti Studies" there is controversy and disagreement about Alberti's reported achievements. Grafton does not avoid drawing conclusions on these controversial points of Alberti's life even including psychological detail. In the end this highly readable and accessible book confirms the validity and the centrality of the Italian Renaissance and Alberti's importance at the center of it. Grafton's book is a must read for students of the Italian Renaissance.