Late Gothic & High Renaissance

Piero Della Francesca

A master lost and found again, Piero Della Francesca is the artist I’m covering this week.

The Duke and Duchess of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza (1473-1475), currently located in The Uffizi, was created by Francesca with oil paint on wood and is today, one of his most renowned paintings.

Born in Borgo San Sepolcro (present-day Sansepolcro) in 1416, Francesca was curious and wanted to artistically depict light, geometry, and perspective. Piero created many fresco works, most unfortunately lost. His known pieces involve religious themes, like the famous “History of The True Cross” which combined smaller works such as the “Dream of Constantine”:

A still-existent work of Francesa is a fresco cycle known as the History of The True Cross (1452 – 1466), painted for the San Francesco church in Arezzo, Italy. This cycle incorporates perspective and geometry through depicted architecture.
One of the panels in the True Cross fresco cycle was the Dream of Constantine, depicting the legend in which Emperor Constantine acknowledged Christianity. The scene is illuminated by a foreshortened angel, facing towards Constantine.

During his time as an artist, his artistic explorations did not influence his peers much, compared to his scientific contributions in the form of art-related treatises. This earned him fame, which faded after his death.

The Nativity ( 1470-1475) was painted in an oil medium. Pierro experimented with Netherlandish painting techniques to create this painting, the result had a few errors (due to a bit of inexperience) such as wrinkles on the painting surface.

He was forgotten, only to be rediscovered in the early twentieth century. Now recognized as a master artist of the Italian Renaissance, his style is praised for his mastery of perspective, geometry, and light. Piero’s “The Baptism of Christ” piece, which experimented with light and perspective, caught my attention:

The Baptism of Christ (around 1450) was a piece Piero created and executed with egg tempera, a traditional medium. Experimentation on light and perspective is present in this painting, with a foreshortened dove above Christ and the reflective water surface behind him.

I’m still trying to figure out how to illustrate water reflections and he does this quite well. To me, it was rather impressive. It’s hard for me to understand why his work failed to influence his peers, but I’m glad he now has the recognition he deserves.

WORKS CITED

  • “PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA (about 1415/20—1492) The Baptism of Christ.” The National Gallery Companion Guide, Erika Langmuir, The National Gallery, 2nd edition, 2016. Credo Reference, https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ngcg/piero_della_francesca_about_1415_20_1492_the_baptism_of_christ/0?institutionId=6884. Accessed 14 Sep. 2019.
  • “PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA (about 1415/20—1492) The Nativity.” The National Gallery Companion Guide, Erika Langmuir, The National Gallery, 2nd edition, 2016. Credo Reference, https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ngcg/piero_della_francesca_about_1415_20_1492_the_nativity/0?institutionId=6884. Accessed 14 Sep. 2019.
  • True Cross, history of the. (1996). In S. West (Ed.), The Bloomsbury Guide to Art. London, UK: Bloomsbury. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/bga/true_cross_history_of_the/0?institutionId=6884
  • Charles, Victoria. Renaissance Art. Parkstone International, 2007. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=436228&site=eds-live&scope=site.
  • “Tradition and Innovation: I – The Later Fifteenth Century in Italy.” The Story of Art, by E. H. Gombrich, 16th ed., Phaidon Press Limited, 1995, pp. 260.
  • Watson, Paul F. “Piero Della Francesca.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Apr. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Piero-della-Francesca.

IMAGES OBTAINED FROM

  • https://www.visituffizi.org/artworks/portraits-of-the-duke-and-duchess-of-urbino-by-piero-della-francesca/
  • https://www.visittuscany.com/shared/visittuscany/immagini/vera-croce-piero-francesca-basilica-arezzo.jpg
  • https://www.historytoday.com/archive/foundations/dream-constantine
  • http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/pierodellafrancesca/nativity.htm
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/great-works-the-baptism-of-christ-1448-1450-piero-della-francesca-1860900.html
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