Palazzo Rucellai, Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti was born in Genoa in 1404 and lived until 1472, and in many ways he was the successor of Brunelleschi in terms of Renaissance Architecture. While Brunelleschi developed a linear style, Alberti experimented with ideas of plasticity. Alberti was a theorist in the Humanist arts, he was well educated and lived a peripatetic life. He also wrote several treatises. The Ten Books of Architecture, written in 1452 in response to Vitruvius, differentiates Greek and Roman architecture. Alberti was not well versed in the actual process of building, he applied his studies and theories to the conceptual aspect. He was concerned with proportion, the orders, and ideal town planning. In 1455 the construction of the Palazzo Rucellai had begun.


Some things to note here...
-two squared off entrances used to recreate symmetry
-there is a more successful cornice, it simultaneously works as a frame for the top story and the entire structure
-featuring superimposed pilasters: orders used one above the other, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian in that order upwards, seen on the Colosseum
-ashlar masonry: hewn blocks of masonry laid in horizontal courses with vertical joints
-squared off double lights with lunette, divided by colonnette
-use of minor and major orders at the windows

San Francesco (Tempio Malatestiano)

Alberti was commissioned by the tyrant Sigismondo Malatesta to transform a pre-existing Gothic church into what would become the Tempio Malatestiano, a sort of mausoleum. Built in 1450 in Mantua, it was inspired by the Arch of Constantine and the concept of triumph over death. The arcaded side, with pilasters attached to piers, holds sarcophagi. It was never finished due to financial trouble. It has been speculated that the top story may have been meant to include another arch window.

Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Commissioned again by Rucellai, Alberti was presented with the challenge of adding onto a pre-existing structure. Brunelleschi had encountered similar situations with S. Lorenzo and Sto. Spirito. One problem was that the nave was taller than the side aisles, the other was how to add on to an older building and keep it consistent. Using his ratio theories, Alberti was able to break it down in to a series of organized and proportionate shapes. The height is equal to the width, the top story is half of the bottom, and the pediment on top is the same size of the side volutes combined. The addition of the volute scrolls elegantly solves the disparity in height. Alberti added the major and minor columns on the lower story, seamlessly conflating the Gothic with the Renaissance. Santa Maria Novella was started in 1458 and finished in 1470.

Alberti's San Sebastiano, Mantua

San Sebastiano was commissioned by Ludovico Gonzaga, the ruler of Mantua at the time. For San Sebastiano, Alberti implemented a centralized Greek cross plan. Started in 1460 as one of the only buildings Alberti designed from the ground up, it was never quite finished the way he had intended it to be. The two halves of the temple facade are framed by pilasters, the central void divides the structure up through the pediment, again working off triumphal arches. The church was meant, as you can see by the diagram, to be elevated over a ground level crypt using one grand staircase. Instead the crypt was left open, and two side staircases were added. Six pilasters are shown in the plan, yet there are only four on the actual building. Centrality and symmetry were observed.

Sant'Andrea, Mantua

As the other structure Alberti was able to design entirely, Sant'Andrea was fortunately more consistent with the original plan. Started in 1470, in Mantua, it would not be finished until the mid 18th century. The facade combines a pedimented temple front with a triumphal arch. There are major and minor pilasters, note that Alberti has not been using columns. This marks a progressive transition in the representation of antiquity. The integration of exterior and interior is more refined and in general the structure is described as monumental.

There are no side aisles here, only three barrel vaulted chapels on each side of the nave. There is a central barrel vault at the entrance and lower barrel vaults in the loggia. The interior is different from the other churches we have been looking at. Instead of arches supported on columns or elegant piers, we now have heavy, blocklike piers and coffered barrel vaults. Similar to Brunelleschi's dell Angeli, the space seems carved out. Proportions are carefully planned using ratios and ornamentation.