{"product_id":"biographical-and-autobiographical-writings","title":"Biographical and Autobiographical Writings","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fresh English translation of five Alberti works that illuminate new aspects of the literary aims and development of the first \"Renaissance man.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) was one of the most famous figures of the Italian Renaissance. His extraordinary range of abilities as a writer, architect, art theorist, and even athlete earned him the controversial title of the first \"Renaissance man.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe works collected in \u003ci\u003eBiographical and Autobiographical Writings\u003c\/i\u003e reflect Alberti's lived experiences and his interests in the genre. This volume includes \u003ci\u003eOn the Advantages and Disadvantages of Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, which partly reflects his experiences as a student in Bologna; \u003ci\u003eThe Life of St. Potitus\u003c\/i\u003e, the biography of a Christian martyr, which also contains autobiographical projections and was to have been the first in a series of lives of saints; \u003ci\u003eMy Dog\u003c\/i\u003e, a mock funeral oration for his dead dog; \u003ci\u003eMy Life\u003c\/i\u003e, one of the first autobiographies of the early modern period and the main source for Jacob Burckhardt's portrait of Alberti; and a comic encomium, \u003ci\u003eThe Fly\u003c\/i\u003e. In particular, the last three works-\u003ci\u003eMy Dog\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMy Life\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Fly\u003c\/i\u003e-constitute a kind of trilogy, as the humanist finds one of his main themes, the portrait of the ideal life, with a strong emphasis on humor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition presents the first collected English translations of these works alongside an authoritative Latin text.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martin McLaughlin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42849064517693,"sku":"9780674292680","price":55.76,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9780674292680.jpg?v=1766901992","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/biographical-and-autobiographical-writings","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}