Piero Della Francesca A&I (Art and Ideas) [Paperback]

Marilyn Aronberg Lavin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2002

Piero della Francesca (c.1413-92) is one of the most intriguing artists of the early Italian Renaissance, known not only for the balance of his compositions and the emotional coolness of his style, but also for his outstanding talent as a mathematician. Taking advantage of documentary evidence that has emerged, particularly since the quincentenary of the artist's death in 1992, Piero scholar Marilyn Aronberg Lavin covers all aspects of the career of an artist who can justifiably be called a "Renaissance Man". Born in Sansepolcro, a small town on the border between Umbria and Tuscany, Piero della Francesca worked there periodically throughout his life. But he also travelled elsewhere in Italy - to Florence and Rome for brief periods, and to Urbino (the location of his famous "Flagellation"), Arezzo ("Legend of the True Cross" fresco cycle), Rimini and Ferrara. He was well respected and worked for the provincial rulers in these cities. However, his fame was not just due to his skill as a painter. Concurrently, he pursued his interest in mathematics and wrote three treatises on the subject. This work was linked to his artistic output - the application of the rules of perspective in his compositions, with their structured spaces and idealized shapes, are one of the reasons why he has become so univesally admired and studied in the modern era.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Known for his sculptural use of light, Piero della Francesca created works that are a perfect confluence of the underpinnings of the RenaissanceAby someone who helped invent it. Calvesi presents up-to-date scholarship in the reassessment of Piero based on recent archive discoveries and restorations of paintings, including the Arezzo Frescoes. He provides careful descriptive analysis of the major works with attention to biography and development, achievement, historical circumstance, philosophy, and influences on and by the artist. The second section contains full color plates and is insightful for its portrayal of iconographic images in such works as the "Misericordia Polyptych," reproducing this important work in its entirety. The catalog of works preceding the final extensive bibliography illustrates each painting in black and white with references to previous scholarship and description of the condition of each piece. This beautiful, inviting book should appeal to Renaissance scholars and students of Italian art; recommended for special, research, and large public collections.AEllen Bates, New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, French, German, Italian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714838527
• ISBN-13: 978-0714838526
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lavish treatment of a fascinating painter, April 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Piero Della Francesca (Hardcover)

Piero's ouevre has never seen such handsome representation in book form. Razor-sharp, large-format illustrations, including details printed at full-bleed on forearm-wide pages, permit intimate inspection of works which even in person can sometimes only be viewed distantly in dim church-light.

Quibbles include some tenuous conjectures about the development of the artist's thinking (which, if the author is taken at face value, includes the Zohar). It's too bad that more progress hadn't been made on the newly-restored Arezzo frescoes at the time of publication. But these aside, this is as definitive and gorgeous of a presentation of Piero as one could fairly ask for. Simply a beautiful book.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich in text, February 22, 2007

By 

Hillel Elkayam (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Piero Della Francesca A&I (Art and Ideas) (Paperback)

This book seems to be more for reading than for looking at the art.
While I can't argue with the other reviewers about the writing quality (which they love, and I have yet to get into) I wish there were more images... and more close-ups, to study brushwork (for artists' sake).
At any rate, to be fair, obviously this is not the goal of the author, so oh well... maybe I'll appreciate it more as time goes on.