Leon Battista Alberti was born in Genoa, Italy, on February 18, 1404. His father was a major figure in the Florentine political world, and Alberti received a quality education. He studied Latin in Padua and completed his formal training at the University of Bologna, where he received a doctorate in canon law in 1428. In 1432, as a secretary in the Papal Chancery in Rome, Alberti became acquainted with Tommaso Parentucelli who was later elected Pope Nicholas V. Alberti worked for the Pope, studying law cases for seven years. In 1447, he became the Pope's architectural advisor, and upon studying the work of Vitruvius, wrote De Re Aerdificatoria (Ten Books on Architecture) in 1452. Alberti was… a major Humanist figure in the Italian Renaissance. He wrote dialogues, plays, poems, and philosophical books that were widely influential. During the last years of his life, Alberti put many of his architectural ideas into practice and wrote De Iciarchia (On the Man of Excellence and Ruler of His Family). Albert died in 1472 at the age of 68.
Martin Kemp is professor of the history of art at Oxford University.