Piero della Francesca
Renaissance Artist
The Life of Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca was born in 1420 in Sansepolcro Italy, where he would spend most of his life. Not much is known about his early years, however we do know that he spent some of his time learning from Domenico Veneziano who influenced Francesca to include a great amount of white light and clear edges in his paintings. Throughout his life, Francesca continued to paint and sold his work to people who were interested. His paintings were specifically known for their complexity. He used perspectivism along with naturalism to make his paintings appear more to the viewers, giving them a better overall impression. Some of his most famous pieces of work are the Flagellation of Christ, The Baptism of Christ, and the Polyptych of Perugia. All three of these paintings include large amounts of detail just as the rest of Francesca's paintings do. Unfortunately, Piero della Francesca went blind during his last few years of life and died in 1492.
Flagelation of Christ
The Baptism of Christ
Polyptych of Perugia
The Baptism of Christ
Piero della Francesca created The Baptism of Christ in the mid 1440's and is one of his most famous pieces of artwork. It was created to be displayed in a chapel to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Francesca included a unique view in his painting by creating three dimensional features and emphasizing white light in order to attract attention to the viewers and give the painting a more realistic appearance. By doing this, Francesca is using perspectivism and naturalism in his painting. Perspectivism is displayed in this painting by the use of value to create three dimensional objects which results in a more realistic look. Naturalism is displayed everywhere in the painting by the white lights. The lights create different colors and shades to help gain perspectivism and obtain a more gentle look. Most viewers seem to find this the most interesting thing about the painting. However, I personally think that the details are the most interesting part because it's amazing that there are so many different colors and textures in just one painting.