The Ten Books of Architecture: The 1755 Leoni Edition

by Leon Battista Alberti

Beautifully illustrated magnum opus of great Renaissance theorist who reintroduced the glories of ancient architecture and applied musical and mathematical principles to achieve perfection of proportion in architectural design. Reprinted from extremely rare British edition. 68 black-and-white plates.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Art, Renaissance, Art History, 15th Century, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1452

About the author

Influential treatises on painting, architecture, and sculpture of Italian writer Leon Battista Alberti introduced classical ideas into Renaissance art.

This author, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer, and general humanist polymath, often characterized exclusively, as James Beck observed, "to single out one of Leon Battista's 'fields' over others as somehow functionally independent and self-sufficient is of no help at all to any effort to characterize Alberti's extensive explorations in the fine arts." Giorgio Vasari described life of Alberti in Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori or "Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Ba...

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the ‘source material’ that I’ve read (Vitruvius & Palladio) - partially because of the principles, partially because it is so much better written than the others.

On temperance and unpretentiousness. On appropriateness.

“ You will never find anyone who is not eager to build something, as soon as he has the means to do so … good citizens, approved, and express joy for their own sake, as well as for yours, because they realize that you have used your wealth to increase greatly. Not only your own honor and glory. But also that of your family, you’re descendants, and the whole city.”

“ The business of the experienced to Workman, is not to demand the best possible materials, but rather to make sensible and appropriate use of those available“

“ to have satisfied necessity is Streight,, and insignificant, to have catered to convenience and rewarding, when the in elegance in a Work causes offense”

“ for vast works. Need only great wealth; praise belongs to those with whom the experts find no fault”

“ The pleasure to be found in objects of great beauty, and ornament is produced, either by convention, and the working of the intellect, or by the hands of the craftsman, or it is imbued naturally in the objects themselves … These three must be applied to each part of the building, according to its respective use and role.”

“ I therefore conclude that anyone who wants to understand correctly, the true incorrect ornament of a building. Must realize that it’s principal component in generator is not the outlet of wealth, but the wealth of ingenuity”

[Adam Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alberti is one of the most brilliant polymaths in history. This book on architecture was in the theme of the most valuable ancient resource on the subject, Vitruvius, where Alberti gives the contemporary take on architecture, influencing the entire modern era. Historians and architects will find this an interesting if not useful read.

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although largely dependent on Vitruvius's De architectura, it was the first theoretical book on the subject written in the Italian Renaissance, and in 1485 it became the first printed book on architecture.

[zooey glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

i guess he knows what he’s talking about, didn’t really care for the books on ornaments, did care for books on materials and public buildings. rip alberti you would’ve hated manhattan

also the language/translation was accessible and easy to understand

[he chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

《建築論》，不僅學到了建築作為藝術的知識，
還學到了豐富的做人、做事、做項目、做歷史的教誨。

無論是思想，還是視野，都十分的寬廣。
大開眼界。

感謝作者淵博又具有高度教養的學問。

[Mariana Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Alberti. Just that.

[blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

unsurprisingly a tad dry

[Omitheus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read pages 2–6, 154–159, 301–317

[Lauren (: · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not realize that Alberti was not a fan of Vitrivius until a class discussion. It was still interesting to see his ideas of architecture and how they have manifested over time as well as in his own work.

[Myhoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classical look at the beginnings of architectual thinking. Easier to read than Vitruvius, but just as profound.