Both painter and mathematician, Piero della Francesca is one of the great examples of Renaissance culture. A synthesis between philosophy and geometry, between mathematics and aesthetics, he was a complex artist driven by the constant search for human truth. The life of this figure is still shrouded in a certain dose of mystery with many unanswered questions, but we know that he was born in Sansepolcro in the 15th century and that he died in 1492, the year which marked the beginning of a new era in human history with Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America.
The works that have survived until present day show us how Piero della Francesca was able to skilfully combine feeling and rationality. The artist was a great inspiration to numerous painters, especially those belonging to the Venetian and Ferrara schools. Piero spent most of his life traveling between various Italian cities, including Urbino, Ferrara, Rimini and Rome. It was precisely in the current Italian capital that he came into contact with the works of Spanish and Flemish artists, which was ultimately a decisive push towards his search for realism.
Our guided tour tells the story of this great Tuscan genius through some of his masterpieces, the first being a Mary Magdalene fresco hosted in the Cathedral of San Donato in Arezzo. The work is connected to Le Storie della Croce Vera, or “Stories of the True Cross” (found in the church of San Francesco, also in Arezzo), a fresco which shows Piero della Francesca’s skilful use of light and colour.
The Madonna del Parto is among the most famous works of this great artist, and you can admire it together with our guide in the Museum of Monterchi. We can appreciate the artist's love for symmetry and geometric shapes in this piece of art history worthy of in-person admiration. La Resurrezione, or “The Resurrection”, is another masterpiece known all over the world, and you’ll see it exhibited at the Civic Museum of Sansepolcro - the artist's birthplace - together with the Polyptych Madonna della Misericordia.
Also at the Civic Museum of Sansepolcro, you can find San Giuliano and San Ludovico di Tolosa, two other works through which to appreciate the use of light and form by Piero della Francesca.