Pierra della Francesca (1406-1492)

Pierra della Francesca (1406-1492)

The fifteenth century in Italy is one of the best time in the whole history of creative art. Padua, Ferrara, Mantua, Venice, and above all, Florence were the cities whose develop extraordinary artistic activity. At that time, Piero della Francesca first used the prospect launched by the architect Brunelleschi, and wrote treatises on this subject. In his frescoes he combined a variety of multi-storey layouts golden ratio with combinations of triangles, rhombus, etc.

Piero della Francesca (1406-1492) was born in Borgo San Sepolcro 

helped Domenico Veneziano in painting the chapel in Santa Maria 

Novella. Around the year 1441 in Borgo’s Cathedral of St. John the 

Evangelist he created Baptism and few years later – executed frescoes 

in the Castello Estenseand the church of Sant'Andrea of Ferrara. In 

Rimini he met Leon Battista Alberti and their relationship had an

impact on his further interest in perspective.

Early in his career Piero became interested in the new science of one-

point perspective. The method of depicting space relied on principles 

of geometry and mathematics intrigued Piero, and he soon devoted his work to its examination. He mastered the discipline, writing treatises, poetry, and books 

on the mathematical accuracy of his perspective. Most importantly, Piero incorporated a deep sense 

of perspective and created the illusion of depth and dimension throughout his work. A standard 

attribute throughout the collection of Piero is the presence of linear lines and perspective. In one of 

his most important paintings, The Flagellation of Christ, a scene of the Savior is set on a grid of 

Greek architecture, receding into the rear of the picture plane. To emphasize this depth Piero painted 

a seemingly insignificant grouping in the front of the canvas, exaggerating the placement of the 

figures and the condensed space. He interpreted the beauty of the world as a combination of shapes 

circle, pyramids, and cones and merged his idea of space with his use of sophisticated color. Some 

revere Piero as the earliest ancestor to the modern artists concerned with simplifying objects to their 

purest form.

The History of The True Cross fresco cycle (1452 - 1456), Basilica San Francesco.


References to literature and culture with psychological tensions (contrast), and symbols show 
Piero dell Francesca as intellectual painter. Despite this, after his death, his painting was relegated
to second place. Once again it was discovered in the nineteenth century and early twentieth boosted
after the success of Cubism and Neo Impressionism. 

References:

Carr-Gomm, S. The secret Language of Art, 2001, England, Duncan Baird Publishers.

Parramón, J. M How to Draw, 1991, Barcelona: Paramón Ediciones, S.A.

Parramón, J.M.  How to Drad in Perspective, 1988, Barcelona; Paramón Ediciones, S.A.

www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Francesca