Alberti and Antiquity: Additional Observations

Abstract

This article discusses the façades of two of Alberti's churches: S. Maria Novella in Florence and S. Sebastiano in Mantua. In addition to the long-established influence of the Baptistery of S. Giovanni and of S. Miniato al Monte on S. Maria Novella, it is likely that the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Forum Romanum, the adjacent Basilica Aemilia, and the Pantheon underlie the design of the lower portion of its façade. The façade of S. Sebastiano, known to have reflected the Arch at Orange, now appears dependent on yet another monument in Orange, the stage building in that city. The implication of this suggestion is that Alberti had visited Provence in the course of his earlier travels in France.

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Phyllis Williams Lehmann

Phyllis Williams Lehmann has written on the architecture, sculpture, and painting of classical antiquity, including contributions to Samothrace, 3 and 5, The Hieron and The Temenos in 1969 and 1982. She has also published articles on the ancient sources of Renaissance monuments and such Renaissance studies as Samothracian Reflections, 1973, and Cyriacus of Ancona's Egyptian Visit and Its Reflections in Gentile Bellini and Hieronymus Bosch, 1977. [Department of Art, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063]