Leon Baptista Alberti : the philosophy of cultural criticism

This dissertation investigates Leon Baptista Alberti's cultural critique, taking into consideration a broad spectrum of Alberti's writings, including many which have remained relatively unknown and ignored. Alberti developed his cultural theories by means of a literary ontology which is based on the definition of the author, his role in society, and his function as catalyst for regeneration. His theory of art and of history, and even his views on the task of Humanism it self, are all subsumed in his comprehensive attempt to demonstrate that myth-making capabilities are central to society's self-definition. Unless society keeps alive the myths of destruction and regeneration, its historical viability, so Alberti argues, is endangered. Alberti's aesthetic theory, which has previously been sought exclusively in his treatises, De pictura and De re aedificatoria, emerges in this inquiry as inextricably interlocked with his cultural critique. For the first time, the treatises will be viewed from within the context of Alberti's own thought.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1986

Author dc:creator

• Jarzombek, Mark Michael

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/14984

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/14984