Editing Renaissance architecture (section)

===Alberti===
[[Leon Battista Alberti]], born in Genoa (1402–1472), was an important [[Humanism|Humanist]] theoretician and designer whose book on architecture ''De re Aedificatoria'' was to have lasting effect. An aspect of [[Renaissance humanism]] was an emphasis of the anatomy of nature, in particular the human form, a science first studied by the Ancient Greeks. Humanism made man the measure of things. Alberti perceived the architect as a person with great social responsibilities.<ref name= I.R. />

[[File:Mantova Concattedrale Sant'Andrea Apostolo Fassade 4.jpg|thumb|right|[[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua]], the façade]]
He designed a number of buildings, but unlike Brunelleschi, he did not see himself as a builder in a practical sense and so left the supervision of the work to others. Miraculously, one of his greatest designs, that of the [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua]], was brought to completion with its character essentially intact. Not so the [[Tempio Malatestiano|Church of San Francesco]] in [[Rimini]], a rebuilding of a Gothic structure, which, like Sant'Andrea, was to have a façade reminiscent of a Roman [[triumphal arch]]. This was left sadly incomplete.<ref name= I.R. />

Sant'Andrea is an extremely dynamic building both without and within. Its triumphal façade is marked by extreme contrasts. The projection of the order of pilasters that define the architectural elements, but are essentially non-functional, is very shallow. This contrasts with the gaping deeply recessed arch which makes a huge portico before the main door. The size of this arch is in direct contrast to the two low square-topped openings that frame it. The light and shade play dramatically over the surface of the building because of the shallowness of its mouldings and the depth of its porch. In the interior Alberti has dispensed with the traditional nave and aisles. Instead there is a slow and majestic progression of alternating tall arches and low square doorways, repeating the "[[triumphal arch]]" motif of the façade.<ref>Joseph Rykwert, ''Leonis Baptiste Alberti'', Architectural Design, Vol 49 No 5–6, Holland St, London</ref>
[[File:Santa Maria Novella.jpg|thumb|left|Façade of [[Santa Maria Novella]], 1456–70]]
Two of Alberti's best known buildings are in Florence, the [[Palazzo Rucellai]] and at [[Santa Maria Novella]]. For the palace, Alberti applied the classical orders of columns to the façade on the three levels, 1446–51. At Santa Maria Novella he was commissioned to finish the decoration of the façade. He completed the design in 1456 but the work was not finished until 1470.

The lower section of the building had Gothic niches and typical polychrome marble decoration. There was a large [[Oculus (architecture)|ocular]] window in the end of the nave which had to be taken into account. Alberti simply respected what was already in place, and the Florentine tradition for polychrome that was well established at the [[Baptistery of Florence|Baptistery of San Giovanni]], the most revered building in the city. The decoration, being mainly polychrome marble, is mostly very flat in nature, but a sort of order is established by the regular compartments and the circular motifs which repeat the shape of the round window.<ref name=BF /> For the first time, Alberti linked the lower roofs of the aisles to nave using two large scrolls. These were to become a standard Renaissance device for solving the problem of different roof heights and bridge the space between horizontal and vertical surfaces.<ref name= Pevs>[[Nikolaus Pevsner]], ''An Outline of European Architecture'', Pelican, 1964, ISBN unknown</ref>