A Master of Perspective

Piero della Francesca’s career as an artist took place during the Early Renaissance, but his reputation as a painter was overshadowed by his more popular contemporaries.

Born on 1412, Piero della Francesca was initially known by his colleagues as an accomplished mathematician, having written many mathematical treatises during in his time. Of these treatises, probably the most popular is On Perspective for Painting (De prospectiva pingendi). This work is recognized as the first treatise to discuss and teach the mathematical techniques needed to create the illusion of volume in two-dimensional art, specifically painting. Field, “The Invention of Infinity” 61)This treatise has been used on all ensuing publications that deal with the same topic of perspective in painting. Piero is considered a pioneer in this field.

It was these mathematical treatises that created the impression that Piero was more of a mathematician than an artist. During his lifetime he was more popular for his work on mathematics than for his works of art, even hailed as the best geometrician of his day. (Damisch 5) However it must be said that Piero made geometry serve painting. (Damisch 7) Piero’s mathematical skills made him a better painter.

Field, “The Invention of Infinity” 62) His mathematical mind allowed him to create paintings that have a unique character and rendered his paintings with a three-dimensional feel that was lacking in paintings at that time.Over time his accomplishments as an artist overshadowed his reputation as a mathematician. Piero della Francesca is now associated with some of the world’s greatest works of art and is regarded as one the most important painters of the Early Renaissance. (Vigue 45) He is believed to have been the first painter to use mathematical concepts to render geometrical perspective to two-dimensional works of art.Piero also owns the distinction of being the first humanist painter of the Early Renaissance.

(Vigue 33) Although the exact date and place of his birth still remains uncertain, Piero was believed to have been born on Borgo Sansepolcro, a small and idyllic town in Tuscany. He was born to a modestly successful household of merchants. His parents were Benedetto de' Franceschi and Romana di Perino da Monterchi. As was the trend during his time, Piero may have learned his craft from one of the older artisans making their trade in his hometown, particularly the Sienese artists who were known to have been in Sansepolcro when Piero was growing up.

Banker 57)Even at a young age, Piero demonstrated an affinity for both art and geometry. When Piero was in his teens, he was accepted as an apprentice in one of Florence’s workshop where he worked under Domenico Veneziano. (Vigue 40) During his apprenticeship in Florence, he became friends with Fra' Angelico. It was Fra' Angelico who introduced Piero della Francesca to masters such as Donatello, Brunelleschi, and Masaccio, renowned painters who have influenced Piero’s own style. As an apprentice, Piero worked mostly on frescoes and polyptychs, forms that he would be associated with throughout his career as an artist. Field, “A Mathematician's Art” 97) In 1442, when Piero was thirty years old, he returned to the small town where he was born.

In Sanepolcro, Piero was commissioned to work on the altarpiece on the church of the Misericordia, a polyptych that the world would come to know as the The Polyptych of the Misericordia. This work took him two decades to complete, finishing other commissions in between, including frescoes in Castello Estense and the church of Sant'Andrea of Ferrara. Two years after his return to his hometown, Piero della Francesca left to work for Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in Rimini.It was during this time that Piero made one of his most celebrated works, the fresco Praying in Front of St. Sigismund, and the Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. Some time after, Piero della Francesca was commissioned to work on the frescoes of the basilica of San Francesco, as replacement for Bicci di Lorenzo.

(Ginzburg 61) These series of frescoes depicting the Legend of the True Cross is regarded as one of his best work, and stands among the masterpieces of the Early Renaissance period. The frescoes depict the legend of how the physical remnants of True Cross were discovered by Empress Helena in Jerusalem.Empress Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great, who was the first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire. In 1453, after finishing the fresco that would solidify his reputation as a Renaissance artist, Piero returned to Sansepolcro, where a year after, he was commissioned to work on the church of Sant'Agostino.

By this time, Piero has already established a good reputation as an artist. Just a few years after his work on Sant'Agostino, he was summoned by no less than Pope Nicholas V to paint frescoes on the churches of Rome and inside the Vatican Palace. Ginzburg 74)It was during this time that Piero found a whole new level of creativity and maturity as an artist. Piero’s works during this time include The Baptism of Fire and The Resurrection.

Piero was known for his great sense of perspective and the pioneering works he made on using mathematical ideas to bring more life to a flat painting. He also gained a reputation for paying extra attention to the background of his paintings, providing them with details and accurate perspectives to frame his composition. Field, “A Mathematician's Art” 96)While he has travelled extensively as an artist, he has kept close ties to Sansepolcro, making regular working visits to his hometown to work and relax at the same time. Piero has spent a great deal of time traveling and have been to several places including Rimini, Arezzo, Ferrara, and Rome.

However, Piero’s heart belonged only to his hometown. During his older years, he retired to Sansepolcro to live a quiet life and to pursue other interests such as writing. In 1492, at the age of eighty years old, Piero died in Sansepolcro, in the very same place where he was born. Ginzburg 31) Works of Art Piero della Francesca stands among the masters the Early Renaissance period.Unfortunately most of his frescoes have been lost or destroyed.

His works on the Vatican, including works by other artists, have been torn down to make place for other more popular artists that came after him, particularly Raphael. However, to remain mourning for the loss of his masterpieces is to do Piero an even greater injustice. What remains for us to do is to celebrate the few works of him that remain for us to appreciate.Piero della Francesca’s paintings are marked by precise use of perspective and geometry. The mathematician in him shows in his frescoes, through the subtle use of an underlying geometric structure and accurate perspective. (Bertelli 14) His works are also notable for the sense of space that it conveys through the consistent use of areas of whites or similar light hues.

His frescoes are bright and airy without any sense of clutter and constriction that marred other paintings. Piero della Francesca prefers to use bright tones which makes his paintings highly pleasant to look at.His careful deliberation with use of color and perspective reflects the hand of an artist with a creatively mathematical mind. Of the few works that remain, Piero’s "Legend of the True Cross," is probably one of the most famous. The masterpiece can be found in the San Francesco Church in road between Florence and Rome.

The fresco consists of several panels or sections depicting different scenes that straddle biblical and medieval legends, from a depiction of the Garden of Eden, to the birth and death of Jesus Christ, until the conversion of Rome to Catholicism and the ensuing recovery of the True Cross.Aside from the mastery of execution, this work stands out because of the sheer genius of the choice of theme that lends itself well to creative explorations. Piero based his idea on Jacopo da Varagine’s 13th century book, the Golden Legend. This work, done at the height of Piero’s artistry and maturity of technique clearly demonstrates his mastery of geometric construction. (Bertelli 32) Among its most important scenes are the following: “Death of Adam”, when the tree used for Christ’s crucifixion is believed to have been planted.“The Queen of Sheba in Adoration of the Wood” which depicts the Queen worshipping the tree.

The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, where the Queen informs King Solomon that the messiah will be crucified using the tree. This information resulted in Solomon cutting down the tree and burying it, only to be found later by the Romans. “Constantine's Dream” where an angel revealed to Constantine the Great the cross in heaven; soon after Constantine won many battles and converted to Christianity, and Rome along with him.“Discovery and Proof of the True Cross”, which depicts the actual discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem by Constantine's mother, Queen Helena.

Bertelli 43) In 2000, after painstaking cleaning and restoration, the "True Cross" was unveiled to an appreciative public. One of the panels of the “True Cross” is called “Dream of Constantine” is of particular interest. The cleaning has revealed the beauty of this particular scene, believed to be the very first rendition of the night sky by a Western artist to accurately depict the constellations.The Polyptych of the Misericordia is one of Piero’s earliest commissioned works, a series of paintings consisting of 23 panels.

Vauchez et al 1138) It can be seen in the Pinacoteca Comunale of Sansepolcro, Tuscany, Italy. The most dominant panel is a portrait of the Madonna della Misericordia (Madonna of Mercy). This series of panel paintings was commissioned in 1445 by the Compagnia della Misericordia, but was finished almost two decades later in 1462. According to the contract, Piero was supposed to have finished the work in three years, but he had his hands full with other commissions in other places.

He travelled to other places and returned occasionally to Sansepolcro to work on the polyptych.Thus this work has the unique distinction of capturing Piero’s development as an artist over the many years of its completion. (Field, “A Mathematician's Art” 227) The trend for polyptychs at that time was to make use of a solid gold background and paint with precious colors, which Piero complied with. The two oldest panels are located to the left of the main panel and they contain the portrait of St. Sebastian and St. John the Baptist.

Other figures such as St. Benedict, St. Francis, St. Andrew, St.

Bernardino, the Angel, and the Madonna of the Annunciation, were finished much later and reflect the changes in Piero’s technique.The main panel was the last to be completed, and it depicts the Madonna della Misericordia with her hands in a tender gesture, enfolding the faithful in her mantle of mercy and protection. The Madonna is portrayed in a medieval style, in a much larger size compared with the human figures. However, it is distinctly Renaissance with Piero’s inspired use of perspective. (Vauchez et al 1138) “The Baptism of Christ” is a painting finished around the late 1440’s. It can be found in the National Gallery of London.

This work was once part of a triptych, and is one of his commissioned works in Sansepolcro.The Baptism of Christ” is one of Piero’s earliest works and shows the influence of his original master, Domenico Veneziano. The painting depicts Jesus Christ during his baptism by John on the banks of the River Jordan. Piero depicted Jesus with a dove on his head, a common symbol for the Holy Spirit. This work shows Piero’s affinity for geometry and symmetry. Jesus Christ, with the dove and John’s hand on his head create a central image that symmetrically divides the painting in two.

However, Piero also painted a tree to Christ's right, a figure that divides the painting according to the golden ratio.The flexion of John’s knee and hand form an angle of the same value. “The Madonna del Parto” is among the few remaining works of Piero della Francesca. The fresco’s original location was in Santa Maria di Momentana (once Santa Maria in Silvis), a church in Monterchi. When the church was damaged by an earthquake, the fresco was removed and can now be found in in the Museo della Madonna del Parto Monterchi in Tuscany. The painting portrays a pregnant Madonna, a common theme is Tuscany during Piero’s time.

(Damisch 18)However, Piero’s portrayal departs from the common depictions of Madonna during that period. Damisch 22) Piero della Francesca painted the Madonna without the books or any royal features that was the trend at that time. Instead, Piero’s Madonna has her hand against her side, a common posture of pregnant women. Two angels holding the curtains are painted to the left and right of the Madonna figure. The symbolic meaning of the angels holding the tent aloft has been subject to much conjecture. However the most accepted theory is that the tent represents the Church and the centrally-located Madonna represents the altar, holding the body of Christ.

(Damisch 27)The Resurrection is a painting that can be found in Piero’s own hometown in the Museo Civico of Sansepolcro. This painting, as the name clearly indicates, is about the Christ’s resurrection from the dead in accordance to prophecy. The Resurrection is believed to have been completed in 1460, and alludes to name of Sanseplocro (“Holy Sepulchre”) where Jesus was laid to rest. Piero’s work has the Risen Christ at the center of the painting, portrayed in a rigid position that evokes images of victory and strength.

Below the tomb are four figures of sleeping soldiers, in a symbolic juxtaposition of human and the divine.On the background, Piero painted two different kinds of trees. On Jesus’ right, the trees are bare and lifeless and the landscape is barren and grey. On the left, the healthy trees are awash in dawn’s glorious light.

It is widely believed that the soldier in brown clothing leaning on the tomb is a portrait of Piero himself. Piero’s received much acclaim for The Flagellation, a piece believed to have been finished around the late 1450’s, although the exact date cannot be determined. The painting that can be seen in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in Urbino, Italy.Modern experts regard this work as among the world’s greatest works of art, even calling it as the the Greatest Small Painting in the World".

(Lavin 7) “The Flagellation” is a departure from Piero’s other works that are triangular in composition. In this work, Jesus Christ is portrayed while being flagged by the Romans in an open gallery, just a few hours before his crucifixion. Three dominant figures in the foreground are shown indifferent to Christ’s flagellation. This painting is perhaps the best demonstration of Piero’s mastery of perspective. Lavin 14)How Piero painted the three figures in the foreground in relation to the flagellation scene in the background is a master stroke that is both visually and emotionally striking.

Apart from this realistic composition of relative distance and perspective, “The Flagellation” is also praised for the eerie sense of tranquility that the work evokes. (Lavin 11) While Piero has been noted for the geometric features of his frescoes, what makes him unique is that he never adhered to any technique and never followed the popular trend.As a fresco master, he was never associated with a particular workshop or school and preferred to travel from place to place as a freelancer. He followed trends but rendered them different and unique, creating his own trend in the process. He followed rules in order to bend them.

Piero’s other famous works that remain today include the Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, St. Jerome in Penitence, Polyptych of Perugiaand, and Madonna di Senigallia. Each of Piero’s work has the unique stamp of a master, with each piece a masterpiece of perspective in its own right.