Saalman, Howard ed.; Enggass, Catherine, trans., The Life of Brunelleschi (University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press)
Text name(s): The Life of Brunelleschi; La Vita di Brunelleschi
Number of pages of primary source text: 47
Author(s):
Dates: 1482 - 1497
Archival Reference:
Original Language(s):
- Italian
Translation:
- Translated into English.
- Original language included.
Translation Comments: facing page Italian-English translation with notes
Geopolitical Region(s):
- Italy
County/Region: Florence
Record Types:
- Biography
Subject Headings:
- Architecture and Buildings
- Art
- Classics / Humanism
- Literature - Other
- Science / Technology
Apparatus:
- Index
- Bibliography
- Introduction
Comments:
The Life written by Antonio di Tuccio Manetti is one of the few sources we have for Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1455), the great architect of the early Italian Renaissance. Written by a younger contemporary of Brunelleschi, the Life catalogues his works including the Duomo of Santa Maria dei Fiori and the Pazzi Chapel, his friendship with Donatello (1386-1466), and his interaction with patrons. It also contains one of many indictments of Brunelleschi’s contemporary rival, Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455). This work is particularly interesting as the main source for Giorgio Vasari’s more widely influential 1550 account of Brunelleschi’s life.
Introduction Summary:
This brief (32 pp) introduction discusses the various manuscript sources of the Life, as well as problems of authorship and dating. The editor also discusses the reliability of Manetti as a source for Brunelleschi’s life, citing his rather decisive affiliation with Brunelleschi in his feud with Ghiberti. He also discusses the scope and influence of Manetti’s Life of Brunelleschi. The editor argues that Manetti’s Life of Brunelleschi is heavily influenced by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) and his theories of architecture and optics.
Cataloger: MCB
