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Leone Battista Alberti (artist) Italian, 1404 - 1472 Self-Portrait, c. 1435 bronze overall (irregular oval): 20.1 x 13.6 cm (7 15/16 x 5 5/16 in.) gross weight: 1663 gr Samuel H. Kress Collection 1957.14.125 On View |
Leone Battista Alberti, among the most broadly talented men of the Renaissance, is celebrated for his treatises on painting, sculpture, and architecture. He was also accomplished in the fields of law, philosophy, mathematics, and science. Besides experimenting with painting and sculpture, he designed great churches in the north Italian cities of Rimini and Mantua, whose rulers he advised on the arts. He also served as architectural advisor to Pope Nicholas V.
This bronze is probably cast from a wax model, in a shape and design inspired by an ancient Roman carved gem. The folds around the neck suggest classical drapery. The closely cropped cap of hair can be associated both with Roman and mid-fifteenth-century styles. Its fluffy tufts recall the mane of Alberti's namesake, the lion (leone).
The clean, continuous lines, proudly lifted head, and distant gaze give Alberti's features a noble, idealized character. Under his chin is his personal emblem, a winged eye. Alberti wrote of the eye as the most powerful, swift, and worthy of human parts, reminding us to be ever vigilant in the pursuit of what is good. The image is also meant to represent the all-seeing eye of God.