The Piero Della Francesca Trail [Hardcover]

John Pope-Hennessy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2002

More personal and sophisticated than a standard guidebook, this essential guide to the Piero masterpieces provides a rare glimpse of the workings of the heart and mind of a world-famous art historian as he looks at and thinks about the paintings andfrescoes. One by one, he describes the stories they portray, their meticulous composition, and the crucial and surprising role of fate in the commission for the church of San Francesco. Originally published in 1993, the book quickly achieved a cult following; this new edition includes, for the first time, Aldous Huxley's "The Best Picture," the famous essay that first inspired Pope-Hennessy to seek out the luminous and enigmatic works that now constitute the pilgrimage known as The Piero della Francesca Trail. The thousands of tourists who travel to Tuscany each year to follow the trail will welcome the republication of this beautifully designed volume.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Art historian Pope-Hennessy was one of the world's foremost authorities on Italian Renaissance art. In 1993, two years before his death, he released this slim volume, which opens with the following sentiment: "There comes a point in life when the artists one has known cease to be objects of research and become friends." He offers here the life of della Francesca, along with a guide to his work buttressed with 52 color illustrations. As a bonus, this also includes Aldous Huxley's 1938 essay The Best Picture, which inspired Pope-Hennessy to study the artist. Gorgeous.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

SIR JOHN POPE-HENNESSY, one of the great art historians of the twentieth century and perhaps its greatest authority on Italian Renaissance art, was born in 1913. He served as Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and Consultative Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His many publications are now standard works of reference and include An Introduction to Italian Sculpture, Italian Gothic Sculpture, Italian Renaissance Sculpture, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture and Cellini as well as many monographs and his masterwork, Donatello. Sir John died in 1995.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 90 pages
• Publisher: Little Bookroom; New edition edition (January 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892145138
• ISBN-13: 978-1892145130
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.5 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Trail is worth finding, July 3, 2000

By 

Janet Worth (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Piero Della Francesca Trail (The Walter Neurath Memorial Le) (Paperback)

This small volume (fewer than 60 pages of text) is well worth tracking down through the 'out-of- print' mechanisms. Originally a lecture, the book introduces Piero della Francesca as a "reclusive, silent, rather taciturn friend", but a friend nonetheless. Mr Henessey's rounded analysis and warm descriptions of both the painter and his paintings certainly allow the reader to establish a relationship with Piero. Depsite the author's slightly disparaging remark about "tourists in their rented Fiats" following the Piero della Francesca trail, I urge travellers (Fiat driven, armchair or others) to increase their knowledge, appreciation and sheer enjoyment of Piero by slipping this volume into their luggage or onto the bookshelf. The book is usefully illustrated.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Piero della Francesca book, March 22, 2009

By 

Anonymous (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Piero Della Francesca Trail (Hardcover)

A gem of a book - makes a great gift for an art history lover

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Trail is worth finding, July 3, 2000

By 

Janet Worth (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Piero Della Francesca Trail (The Walter Neurath Memorial Le) (Paperback)

This small volume (fewer than 60 pages of text) is well worth tracking down through the 'out-of- print' mechanisms. Originally a lecture, the book introduces Piero della Francesca as a "reclusive, silent, rather taciturn friend", but a friend nonetheless. Mr Henessey's rounded analysis and warm descriptions of both the painter and his paintings certainly allow the reader to establish a relationship with Piero. Depsite the author's slightly disparaging remark about "tourists in their rented Fiats" following the Piero della Francesca trail, I urge travellers (Fiat driven, armchair or others) to increase their knowledge, appreciation and sheer enjoyment of Piero by slipping this volume into their luggage or onto the bookshelf. The book is usefully illustrated.