Publisher's Synopsis
The mosaic of the National Edition of the works of Leon Battista Alberti gets enriched by a new, essential element thanks to the publication of this edition of theDe Pictura in its vernacular writing, an edition that has been directed by Lucia Bertolini according to research strategies which have been developed during years of study. This edition is destined to become an indispensable reference for any future remark or research in regards to Albertis painting treatise as well as for a more and more precise outline of the multifaceted personality of this author. This edition is based on the three manuscripts of the work preserved in Florence, Paris and Verona which have been accurately analyzed in the light of previous editions, starting from the one by Cecil Grayson. The Florentine manuscript has been taken as the leading and fundamental one in the systematic comparison of the three manuscripts which was carried out by mean of detailed comparison tables with the intent of establishing one text that is philologically reliable. In fact, the collation of the three manuscripts not only helps tracking the development process of the treatise but also enables a better recognition of the Albertian working method. The text of the De Pictura is preceded by critical notes which document the reasons for the restoring choices, it is annotated with a threefold apparatus (about the writing, the traditions and the sources of the text) and followed by a linguistic comment that intends to clarify any of its ambiguous or problematic aspects.
