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| Leon Battista Alberti Interior 1472-92 Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua |
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| Leon Battista Alberti Façade 1450 Tempio Malatestiana, Rimini |
"Very great is the advantage bestowed by learning, without exception, on all those craftsmen who take delight in it, but particularly sculptors, painters, and architects, for it opens up the way to invention in all the works that are made; not to mention that a man cannot have a perfect judgment, be his natural gifts what they may, if he is deprived of the complemental advantage of being assisted by learning. ... And that all this is true is seen manifestly in Leon Battista Alberti, who, having studied the Latin tongue, and having given attention to architecture, to perspective, and to painting, left behind him books written in such a manner, that since, not one of our modern craftsmen has been able to expound these matters in writing, although very many of them in his own country have excelled him in working. It is generally believed – such is the influence of his writings over the pens and speech of the learned – that he was superior to all those who were actually superior to him in work. Wherefore, with regard to name and fame, it is seen from experience that writings have greater power and longer life than anything else; for books go everywhere with ease, and everywhere they command belief, if only they be truthful and not full of lies. It is no marvel, then, if the famous Leon Battista is known more for his writings than for the work of his hands."
– from Giorgio Vasari's Life of Leon Battista Alberti, Architect of Florence first published in 1550, translated by Gaston du C. de Vere, 1912
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| Leon Battista Alberti Façade 1446-51 Palazzo Ruccelai, Florence |
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| Leon Battista Alberti Façade detail 1446-51 Palazzo Ruccelai, Florence |
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| Leon Battista Alberti Tempietto (Apse) 1467 Cappella Ruccelai, San Pancrazio, Florence |
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| Leon Battista Alberti Tempietto (Façade) 1467 Cappella Ruccelai, San Pancrazio, Florence |
"Donato, who was called Donatello by his relatives and wrote his name thus on some of his works, was born in Florence in the year 1403. Devoting himself to the arts of design, he was not only a very rare sculptor and a marvelous statuary, but also a practiced worker in stucco, an able master of perspective, and greatly esteemed as an architect; and his works showed so great grace, design, and excellence, that they were held to approach more nearly to the marvelous works of the ancient Greeks and Romans than those of any other craftsman whatsoever. Wherefore it is with good reason that he is ranked the first who made a good use of the invention of scenes in low-relief, which he wrought so well that it is recognized from the thought, the facility, and the mastery that he showed therein, that he had a true understanding of them, making them with a beauty far beyond the ordinary; for not only did no craftsman in this period ever surpass him, but no one even in our own age has equaled him."
– from Giorgio Vasari's Life of Donato (Donatello), Sculptor of Florence, first published in 1550, translated by Gaston du C. de Vere, 1912
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| Donatello Pazzi Madonna ca. 1420-40 marble relief Staatliche Museen, Berlin |
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| Donatello Madonna of the Clouds ca. 1425-35 marble relief Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| Donatello Angel of the Annunciation ca. 1435 gilded pietra serena Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence |
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| Donatello Virgin of the Annunciation ca. 1435 gilded pietra serena Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence |
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| Donatello Ciborium 1432-33 marble Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican |
"And in truth Duke Cosimo could have chanced upon nothing more worthy of the power and greatness of his mind than this palace, which might truly appear to have been erected by Messer Luca Pitti, from the design of Brunelleschi, for his most Illustrious Excellency. Messer Luca left it unfinished by reason of his cares in connection with the State, and his heirs, having no means wherewith to complete it, and being unwilling to let it go to ruin, were content to make it over to the Duchess, who was ever spending money on it as long as she lived, but not so much as to give hope that it would be soon finished. It is true, indeed, according to what I once heard, that she was minded to spend 40,000 ducats in one year alone, if she lived, in order to see it, if not finished, at least well on the way to completion. And because the model of Filippo [Brunelleschi] has not been found, his Excellency has caused Bartolomeo Ammanati, an excellent sculptor and architect, to make another, according to which the work is being carried on; and a great part of the courtyard is already completed in rustic work, similar to the exterior."
– from Giorgio Vasari's Life of Filippo Brunelleschi, Sculptor and Architect of Florence, the updated edition of 1568, translated by Gaston du C. de Vere, 1912
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| Bartolomeo Ammanati Courtyard Façade 1558-70 Palazzo Pitti, Florence |
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| Bartolomeo Ammanati Neptune Fountain 1559-75 marble Piazza della Signoria, Florence |
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| Bartolomeo Ammanati Allegory of Winter 1563-65 stone Villa Medici, Castello |