Multi-faceted Alberti

This paper aims to research De picture written by Leon Battista Alberti, the great humanist in the Renaissance. After studying on other treatise and cited ancient antiquities by Alberti, multi-angle and interdisciplinary interpretation and reviews on De picture by art history scholars in home and abroad, especially comparative analysis of a few controversial issues, several conclusions are made in order to express his flexible and creative use of multidisciplinary research outcomes in forming his own art theory. Moreover, problems existed in recent studies explaining Alberti’s concept in rhetorical way are discussed and more reasonable source for his art theory is stated in this paper, that is, the application and development of cognition theory and optics.There are three chapters in this paper. First, the humanistic background of Alberti’s theory formation and research on rhetoric and its effect in different aspect which had brought about the Humanism movement are discussed. The great humanist Alberti was born in the environment of extensive and profound humanism thought. Next, this paper introduces the structure, target reader and aims of De picture and explains the purposes of his work-promoting the art of painting and the status of painters and stressing on virtue and practice together with theories. Then, the main point of art theory in De picture is discussed in theoretical way in order to show his flexibility and creativity in application of art theory and classical literature and wording, including his concept of Historia and art theory in the viewer’s perspective. Finally, from Spencer’s Ut Rhetorica Pictura, the relation between painting and rhetoric is studied, including Baxandall’s linguistic habit and visual cognition. One of Alberti’s art theory concepts--composition is studied as an example to analyze the relation between painting and rhetoric discussed by scholars and the.medieval philosophical source of composition is concluded.