Humanism is best defined as a philosophical and ethical stance that puts emphasis on value and agency of human beings. Humanist individuals prefer critical thinking and evidence over superstition. Humanism came about from the renaissance, the rebirth of Europe after the middle ages. A perfect example of a humanist, renaissance man is Leon Battista Alberti. Born on February 14, 1404 in Genoa, Italy, place were the Renaissance began. Alberti is also known as the quintessential Renaissance “universal man” by many scholars. Alberti was noted for his great talent in architecture, writing, philosophy, cleric, engineering and mathematics. Alberti came from a wealthy Florentine family who lived in exile for political reasons with his family. Educated
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A graduate from the University of Bologna with a degree in law Alberti decided to accept a position as a secretary instead of pursuing law. As a philosopher he wrote several dialogues on moral philosophy. As an architect Alberti carried out several outstanding buildings such as the facades of Sta. Maria Novella, Palazzo Rucellai and Tempio Malatestiano. As an architect Alberti preoccupied nearly ten years of his life traveling to various cities and courts on Renaissance Italy, but Rome and Florence remained as his home. As a writer he was credited with writing the first Italian grammar book. Other aspect that made Alberti an ideal Renaissance man was his invention of the cypher wheel, a functional coding and decoding device. In my opinion another artist that deserves to be labeled a “Renaissance Man” is Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci Italy. Da Vinci lived during Alberti’s time. Da Vinci was known as a math genius, artist, inventor and student of all things scientific. Due to his natural genius he epitomizes the term “Renaissance Man”. As an artist Da Vinci painted “The last supper” and “The Mona Lisa” two of the worlds most recognized paintings. He spent his later years moving between Florence, Rome and France working on a variety of
A graduate from the University of Bologna with a degree in law Alberti decided to accept a position as a secretary instead of pursuing law. As a philosopher he wrote several dialogues on moral philosophy. As an architect Alberti carried out several outstanding buildings such as the facades of Sta. Maria Novella, Palazzo Rucellai and Tempio Malatestiano. As an architect Alberti preoccupied nearly ten years of his life traveling to various cities and courts on Renaissance Italy, but Rome and Florence remained as his home. As a writer he was credited with writing the first Italian grammar book. Other aspect that made Alberti an ideal Renaissance man was his invention of the cypher wheel, a functional coding and decoding device. In my opinion another artist that deserves to be labeled a “Renaissance Man” is Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci Italy. Da Vinci lived during Alberti’s time. Da Vinci was known as a math genius, artist, inventor and student of all things scientific. Due to his natural genius he epitomizes the term “Renaissance Man”. As an artist Da Vinci painted “The last supper” and “The Mona Lisa” two of the worlds most recognized paintings. He spent his later years moving between Florence, Rome and France working on a variety of