Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the

Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which oc ...

. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is characterized by its serene

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "huma ...

, its use of geometric forms and perspective. His most famous work is the cycle of frescoes '' The History of the True Cross'' in the church of San Francesco in the Tuscan town of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and '' comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea le ...

Biography

Early years

Piero was born Piero di Benedetto in the town of Borgo Santo Sepolcro, modern-day

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, to Benedetto de' Franceschi, a tradesman, and Romana di Perino da Monterchi, members of the Florentine and Tuscan Franceschi noble family. His father died before his birth, and he was called Piero della Francesca after his mother, who was referred to as "la Francesca" due to her marriage into the Franceschi family (similar to how Lisa Gherardini became known as "la Gioconda" through her marriage into the Giocondo family). Romana supported his education in mathematics and art. He was most probably apprenticed to the local painter Antonio di Giovanni d'Anghiari, because in documents about payments it is noted that he was working with Antonio in 1432 and May 1438. He certainly took notice of the work of some of the

Sienese Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centu ...

artists active in San Sepolcro during his youth; e.g. Sassetta. In 1439 Piero received, together with Domenico Veneziano, payments for his work on

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of Mural, mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the ...

es for the church of Sant'Egidio in Florence, now lost. In Florence he must have met leading masters like

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pen ...

, Luca della Robbia,

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...

, and Brunelleschi. The classicism of Masaccio's frescoes and his majestic figures in the Santa Maria del Carmine were for him an important source of inspiration. Dating of Piero's undocumented work is difficult because his style does not seem to have developed over the years.

Mature work

Piero returned to his hometown in 1442 and was elected to the City Council of Sansepolcro. Three years later, he received his first commission, to paint the ''Madonna della Misericordia'' altarpiece for the church of the Misericordia in Sansepolcro, which was completed in the early 1460s. In 1449 he executed several frescoes in the Castello Estense and the church of Sant'Andrea of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stre ...

, now also lost. His influence was particularly strong in the later Ferrarese allegorical works of Cosimo Tura. The ''Baptism of Christ'', now in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

in London, was completed in about 1450 for the high altar of the church of the Priory of S. Giovanni Battista at Sansepolcro. Other notable works are the frescoes of '' The Resurrection'' in Sansepolcro, and the '' Madonna del parto'' in Monterchi, near Sansepolcro. Piero della Francesca Malatesta

Two years later he was in

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus ...

, working for the

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. In 1451, during that sojourn, he executed the famous fresco of ''St. Sigismund and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta'' in the

Tempio Malatestiano The Tempio Malatestiano ( it, Malatesta Temple) is the unfinished cathedral church of Rimini, Italy. Officially named for St. Francis, it takes the popular name from Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, who commissioned its reconstruction by the f ...

, as well as a portrait of Sigismondo. In Rimini, Piero may have met the famous

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

mathematician and architect

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. ...

, who had redesigned the

, although it is known that Alberti directed the execution of his designs for the church by correspondence with his building supervisor. Thereafter Piero was active in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche ...

and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. In 1454, he signed a contract for the ''Polyptych of Saint Augustine'' in the church of Sant'Agostino in Sansepolcro. The central panel of this

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a "triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapt ...

is lost, and the four panels of the wings, with representations of

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

s, are now scattered around the world. A few years later, summoned by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

, he moved to Rome, where he executed frescoes in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

, of which only fragments remain. Two years later he was again in the Papal capital, painting frescoes in the

Vatican Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the ...

, which have since been destroyed. Piero della Francesca- Legend of the True Cross - the Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon; detail

Frescoes in San Francesco at Arezzo

In 1452, Piero della Francesca was called to

to replace Bicci di Lorenzo in painting the frescoes of the basilica of San Francesco. The work was finished in 1464. '' The History of the True Cross'' cycle of frescoes is generally considered among his masterworks and those of Renaissance painting in general. The story in these frescoes derives from legendary medieval sources as to how timber relics of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althou ...

came to be found. These stories were collected in the '' Golden Legend'' of Jacopo da Varazze (Jacopo da Varagine) of the mid-13th century."The Golden Legend, or Lives of the Saints" Volume Three
retrieved on 22 May 2007.

Piero's activity in Urbino

At some point, Giovanni Santi invited Piero to

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

. Between 1469 and 1486 Piero worked repeatedly in the service of Count Federico III da Montefeltro (Duke in 1474). '' The Flagellation'' is generally considered Piero's oldest work in Urbino (c. 1455–1470). It is one of the most famous and controversial pictures of the early Renaissance. As discussed in its own entry, it is marked by an air of geometric sobriety, in addition to presenting a perplexing enigma as to the nature of the three men standing at the foreground. Piero della Francesca 046

Another famous work painted in Urbino is the ''Double Portrait'' of Federico and his wife Battista Sforza, in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museu ...

. The portraits in profile take their inspiration from large bronze medals and stucco roundels with the official portraits of Fedederico and his wife. Other paintings made in Urbino are the monumental Montefeltro Altarpiece (1474) in the Brera Gallery in Milan and the '' Madonna of Senigallia''. In Urbino Piero met the painters Melozzo da Forlì, Fra Carnevale, and the Flemish Justus van Gent, the mathematician Fra

Luca Pacioli Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli (sometimes ''Paccioli'' or ''Paciolo''; 1447 – 19 June 1517) was an Italian mathematician, Franciscan friar, collaborator with Leonardo da Vinci, and an early contributor to the field now known as accounting ...

, the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini, and probably also

Later years

In his later years, painters such as Perugino and

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–1 ...

frequently visited his workshop. He completed the treatise '' On Perspective in Painting'' in the mid-1470s to 1480s. By 1480, his vision began to deteriorate, but he continued writing treatises such as ''Short Book on the Five Regular Solids'' in 1485. It is documented that Piero rented a house in Rimini in 1482. Piero made his will in 1487 and he died five years later, on 12 October 1492, in his own house in San Sepolcro. He left his possessions to his family and the church.

Criticism and interpretation

Piero, madonna col bambino e 4 angeli, clark art institute

Recently, the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by ...

in New York until 19 May 2013, collected seven of the eight extant paintings of Piero known to exist in the United States for exhibition. Of the seven pieces in the exhibit, critic Jerry Saltz writing in ''New York'' magazine singled out Piero's ''Virgin and Child Enthroned With Four Angels'' for its exemplary qualities. Saltz states that, "The Virgin and child are elevated two steps. They are in a world itself apart from this world apart. Mary isn't looking at her child and looks instead at the rose he reaches for. You begin to glean the revelation she is having. The flower represents love, devotion, and beauty. It also symbolizes blood and the crown of thorns Christ will wear. This child who will suffer a horrendous death reaches for his acceptance of fate. Mary does not pull the flower back. You sense an inner agony, noticing her deep-blue robe open to reveal scarlet beneath, symbol of outward passion and pain to come. In the dead-center vertical line of the painting is Christ's right palm that will be nailed to the cross." Saltz accepted this oil painting as the most exceptional work of Piero on display in the exhibit.

Work in mathematics and geometry

Piero's deep interest in the theoretical study of perspective and his contemplative approach to his paintings are apparent in all his work. In his youth, Piero was trained in mathematics, which most likely was for mercantilism. Three treatises written by Piero have survived to the present day: ', '' De quinque corporibus regularibus'' (''On the Five Regular Solids'') and '' De Prospectiva pingendi'' (''On Perspective in painting''). The subjects covered in these writings include

arithmetic Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th ce ...

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

and innovative work in both

solid geometry In mathematics, solid geometry or stereometry is the traditional name for the geometry of three-dimensional, Euclidean spaces (i.e., 3D geometry). Stereometry deals with the measurements of volumes of various solid figures (or 3D figures), in ...

and perspective. Much of Piero's work was later absorbed into the writing of others, notably

. Piero's work on solid geometry was translated in Pacioli's '' Divina proportione'', a work illustrated by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

. Biographers of his patron Federico da Montefeltro of

record that he was encouraged to pursue the interest in perspective which was shared by the Duke. In the late 1450s, Piero copied and illustrated the following works of

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...

:James Banker, ''A Manuscript of the Works of Archimedes in the Hand of Piero della Francesca'', «Burlington Magazine», CXLVII, March 2005, pp. 165–69. '' On the Sphere and Cylinder'', '' Measurement of a Circle'', ''On Conoids and Spheroids'', '' On Spirals'', '' On the Equilibrium of Planes'', '' The Quadrature of the Parabola'', and '' The Sand Reckoner''. The

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

consists of 82 folio leaves, is held in the collection of the Biblioteca Riccardiana and is a copy of the translation of the Archimedean corpus made by Italian humanist Iacopo da San Cassiano.Paolo d'Alessandro e Pier Daniele Napolitani, ''Archimede latino.Iacopo da San Cassiano e il corpus archimedeo alla metà del Quattrocento'', Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2012.

Inspirations

Bohuslav Martinů wrote a three movement work for orchestra entitled '' Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca''. Dedicated to Rafael Kubelik, it was premiered by Kubelik and the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

at the 1956 Salzburg Festival. Piero's geometrical perfection and the almost magic atmosphere of the light in his painting inspired modern painters like Giorgio de Chirico, Massimo Campigli, Felice Casorati, and Balthus.

Selected works

Piero della Francesca - Baptism of Christ - WGA17595

*'' Polyptych of the Misericordia'' (1445–62) – Tempera and oil on panel, 273 x 330 cm, Museo Civico Sansepolcro *'' The Baptism of Christ'' (c. 1448–50) – Tempera on panel, 168 × 116 cm,

, London *''St. Jerome in Penitence'' (c. 1449–51) – Tempera on panel, 51 × 38 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin *''St. Jerome and a Donor (Girolamo Amadi)'' (1451) – Tempera and oil on panel, 49 × 42 cm, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice *''Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Praying in Front of St. Sigismund'' (1451) – Fresco (transferred to canvas), 257 x 345 cm,

, Rimini *'' Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta'' (c. 1451) – Tempera and oil on panel, 44.5 × 34.5 cm,

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris *'' The History of the True Cross'' (c. 1455–66) – Fresco cycle, Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo *'' The Flagellation of Christ'' (c. 1460) – Tempera on panel, 58.4 x 81.5 cm, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche,

*'' Polyptych of Saint Augustine'' (1460–70) – Tempera and oil on panels, dispersed in several museums *''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whi ...

'' (c. 1463) –Fresco, 225 × 200 cm, Museo Civico Sansepolcro *''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the G ...

'' (c. 1465) –Fresco (detached), 151 × 126 cm,

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was foun ...

, Boston *''St. Mary Magdalene'' (c. 1466, 1458–70s) – Fresco, 190 × 180 cm, Cathedral, Arezzo *'' Madonna del Parto'' (1459–67) – Detached fresco, 260 × 203 cm, Chapel of the cemetery, Monterchi *'' The Nativity'' (c. 1470) – Oil on panel, 124.5 × 123 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Polyptych of Saint Anthony'' (c. 1470) – Oil on panel, 338 × 230 cm, Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia *''

Brera Madonna The ''Brera Madonna'' (also known as the ''Pala di Brera'', the Montefeltro Altarpiece or Brera Altarpiece) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, executed in 1472–1474. It is housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera o ...

'', i.e. ''Montefeltro Altarpiece'', (1472–74) – Oil on panel, 248 × 170 cm,

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

, Milan *'' Diptych of the Count and Countess of Urbino'', Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza – Oil on panel, each 47,4 × 33,6 cm,

Galleria degli Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museu ...

, Florence. *'' Madonna di Senigallia'' (c. 1474) – Oil on panel, 67 × 53.5 cm, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino

References

Footnotes Citations

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesca, Piero della Italian Renaissance painters Quattrocento painters Painters from Tuscany 1415 births 1492 deaths Artist authors Geometers Italian male painters Mathematical artists People from Sansepolcro 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian mathematicians 15th-century Italian painters Catholic painters Renaissance painters