Postgraduate Course: Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72) as Writer and Architect (ARHI11005)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course considers Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72) as an observer of contemporary practice and as the advocate of a practice to some extent aiming at a revival of classical values, one, at the same time, systematic and naturalistic. |
| Course description |
Alberti (1404-72) wrote treatises on painting, sculpture and architecture. In intending to be a comprehensible voice on matter for which a familiar critical and theoretical language was not generally current, he set himself a difficult task. By education at Padua and Bologna and as a scholarly employee of the Papal court, he was equipped for it. But no less was he prepared by his close familiarity with the practice of the arts themselves. He was moved to undertake the task by his confidence that moral and social life are sustained by the visual arts.
The course considers Alberti as an observer of contemporary practice and as the advocate of a practice to some extent aiming at a revival of classical values, one, at the same time, systematic and naturalistic. In addition, Alberti, though by background and education, entitled to depreciate the mechanical arts, painted, it is reported, sculpted, it is argued, and designed as an architect, it is universally acknowledged. As an educator, Alberti was also an advocate of architecture as an activity worthy of an erudite patron. He was instrumental, in the longer spread of history, in establishing the credentials of the visual arts, perhaps especially architecture, as proper concerns (bringing corresponding rewards in esteem) of the prince. The standing of the artist himself was raised by Alberti's advocacy. Alberti's practice and his advocacy was peripatetic. The spread of Renaissance values beyond Tuscany was in part owing to his travels around the courts of Italy. Following in Alberti's footsteps, the course will trace this process of colonisation or evangelization from Florence of the Rucellai to Rome of the Popes, Ferrara of the Este, Rimini of the Malatesta, Urbino of the Montefeltro and Mantua of the Gonzaga.
A full schedule of lectures and tutorials will be available in the course handbook.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an extensive understanding, in terms of content and method, of the history of art and architecture of the fifteenth century in Italy.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding how contemporary literature (particularly the writings of Alberti) reflected and interacted with art and architecture of the period.
- Demonstrate the ability to construct a sophisticated art and architectural-historical argument, informed by analysis of primary sources and corrected by critical awareness with regard to secondary texts.
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Reading List
| A full bibliography will be available in the course handbook. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
At the end of this course the student will be able, through tutorial discussions and coursework, demonstrate:
- enhanced abilities in research, critical thinking, weighing up of arguments and evidence
- understanding of complex issues and how to draw valid conclusions from the past
- production of innovative research pieces that adhere to bibliographical convention
- enhanced writing skills |
| Keywords | renaissance,architecture,alberti,painting,theory,italy |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jim Lawson
Tel: (0131 6)50 2619
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Jennifer Watson
Tel: (0131 6)50 2226
Email: |
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