Piero della Francesca [Hardcover]

Senior Carlo Bertelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1992

Piero della Francesca has long been admired as one of the greatest of all Renaissance painters. Much archival and technical work has been done concerning him and his work (including the restoration of his great fresco cycle in Arezzo and of many of his other paintings and frescoes). Carlo Bertelli, presents both a synthesis of recent documentary and scientific research and the reflections of his own lifetime's study of Piero's work. The book incorporates a full-scale biography of the artist, which locates Piero's work in relation to that of his contemporaries, and goes on to analyze each of his surviving paintings. It concludes with a full catalogue of his works, and is illustrated in colour throughout with reproductions of the newly restored panels and frescoes.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bertelli's densely reasoned monographic study of the early Renaissance master Piero della Francesca proffers a plethora of provocative but not equally compelling insights into the artist's life, work, and style. Not only has he convincingly reconstructed Piero's probable peregrinations, the plausible chronology of his paintings, and their manifold sources and stylistic links, but he also provides a wealth of significant insights into crucial masterpieces and the painter's writings on mathematics and perspective. A comprehensive but far from exhaustive catalog of the surviving paintings helps round out the text's lacunae. An excellent complement to Bertelli's work is Ronald Lightbown's Piero della Francesca ( LJ 7/92). While scholars will need to ponder the somewhat divergent conclusions of both authors, general readers are better served by Lightbown's engaged evocation of the works themselves and by his coherent arguments and lucid prose.
- Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (July 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300057032
• ISBN-13: 978-0300057034
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,241,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next Best After a Visit to Arezzo, October 8, 2008

By 

Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Piero della Francesca: The Frescoes of San Francesco in Arrezzo (Hardcover)

I've seen the Piero frescos in the Church of St Francis in Arezzo in all of their stages over the past 40 years, from terrible neglect and dismal lighting to the present state of glorious restoration. All I can say is, hurray for the restorers and for the civic pride that provided the funds.

This is an excellent book of photos of the frescos, about as good as such a reduction of scale could ever be. I call attention to it in connection to my recent review of the biographical study of Piero as a mathematician as well as a painter.

Arezzo, by the way, is a neglected destination among North American visitors to Italy. It's not as charming a city as Perugia to the south or Siena to the north, but it has a major museum of Umbrian Renaissance art as well as the Piero frescos.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars piero: san francesco frescoes, March 22, 2008

By 

Mr. Kenneth J. Garland (uk) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Piero della Francesca: The Frescoes of San Francesco in Arrezzo (Hardcover)

having seen the frescoes at arezzo less than 12 months ago, i was intrigued to find out whether the images in this book matched my recent memories: they did, and more, because the close-ups were a further revelation, since i could not get so close to the frescoes when on the spot. i am grateful to skira for giving me this wonderful bonus. the book has been a continuous presence on the lectern in my living room ever since amazon delivered it a few weeks ago.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible experience, July 16, 1998

By 

Peter Vatman ([e-mail]) (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Piero della Francesca (Hardcover)

You have to be really into Italian art and Early Renaissance to get the feeling of this wonderful book. The way it's lavishly printed makes you happy almost as much as you would see the originals. I would recommend this to an art lovers as a second choice after the site tours.