Piero della Francesca
1415-1492
Kevin J. Benoy
Piero della Francesca
• Piero was strongly
influenced by such
Florentines as
Masaccio, Brunelleschi
and Fra Angelico – but
he was not wellregarded in that city.
• He was seen as oldfashioned and
provincial.
• As a result he moved
away from the city
where he apprenticed. Painting detail – believed to be a self portrait
Piero della Francesca
• His faces are
dignified but
grave.
• This is seen
clearly in his
Flagellation.
• Despite the
emotionally
charged subject,
his characters
seem oddly
detached.
Piero della Francesca
• His portraits all appear
grave.
• This is clearly seen in
his portrayal of
Battista Sforza.
Piero della Francesca
• …and his wife.
Piero della Francesca
• …or of Sigismondo
Malatesta.
Piero della Francesca
• Piero’s works are
marked by a fanatical
devotion to
mathematical
perspective.
Piero della Francesca
• His Ideal City is a wonderful example of mathematical
precision…
• …yet it is totally devoid of life.
Piero della Francesca
• In later life,
Piero abandoned
painting in
favour of writing
and the study of
geometry and
applied
mathematics.
Pierro’s De quinque corporibus regularibus
Finis