Alberti, Leon Battista << ahl BEHR tee, lay OHN baht TEES tah >> (1404-1472), was an Italian Renaissance architect, painter, and scholar. He spent his early years studying ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. During this time, he gained a reputation as a humanist and learned Latin scholar as he wrote two influential books, On Painting (1435) and On Architecture (begun in the 1440’s). The work on painting was the first scientific study of perspective (representing objects on a flat surface to give the illusion of receding distance).
From 1450 until his death on April 25, 1472, Alberti focused his attention on architecture. His best-known buildings include the church of San Francesco (1450) in Rimini and the Rucellai Palace (1452) in Florence, as well as the facade (front) of the church of Santa Maria Novella (about 1456-1470) in Florence. Another of his masterpieces, the church of Sant’ Andrea in Mantua, was completed in 1494, after his death. Alberti was born on Feb. 14, 1404, in Genoa.
