Leon Battista Alberti

Architecture Italian 1404 – 1472 101 quotes

An Italian humanist, architect, and art theorist, his treatise 'De re aedificatoria' was the first modern book on the theory of architecture.

Quotes by Leon Battista Alberti

The architect must be a man of great moderation and discretion.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great sincerity and candor.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great fidelity and loyalty.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great honor and reputation.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great dignity and authority.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great magnificence and splendor.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great elegance and grace.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great politeness and courtesy.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great affability and sweetness.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great humanity and benignity.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

The architect must be a man of great urbanity and civility.

De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) 1450

Painting is jealous, and requires the whole application of the mind.

De Pictura 1435

The fundamental principle of all painting is to make a flat surface appear as a body in relief, and projecting from its canvas.

De Pictura 1435

Beauty is the harmony of all the parts of a building, in accordance with a fixed rule of symmetry, so that it is pleasant and useful.

De Re Aedificatoria 1452

The house is like the human body: the plan is the skeleton, the walls are the flesh, the roof is the skin.

De Re Aedificatoria 1452

In painting, the imitation of things is not enough; it must be the imitation of the way they appear.

De Pictura 1435

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine beauty.

De Pictura 1435

Architecture should be beautiful, but also useful and solid.

De Re Aedificatoria 1452

The family is the origin of all society.

Della Famiglia 1433

Happiness is found in virtue and the pursuit of knowledge.

Della Famiglia 1433