Product Description
Piero della Francesca, one of the greatest painters of the fifteenth century, was also an accomplished mathematician. This book—the first combined study of Piero’s work as a mathematician and as a painter—explores the connections between these two activities and thus enhances our understanding of both his paintings and his writings.

J. V. Field begins by describing Piero’s education, family background, and training as a painter. The book then examines the strong sense of three-dimensional form shown in his art and the abstract solid geometry discussed in his writings. Field next considers Piero’s treatise on perspective and paintings that exemplify the prescriptions it provides and assesses the optical or pictorial “rules” Piero followed as a painter. Piero is identified as a figure of some intellectual weight—as a learned craftsman. The book concludes by considering the historical significance of the tradition to which he belonged and its connections with the Scientific Revolution.

J. V. Field is honorary visiting research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London.

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Customer Reviews (2)

Serene or Stolid? Otherworldly or Dehumanized?
There's usually no mistaking a painting or fresco by Piero della Francesca for the work of any other artist of the Italian Renaissance. The absolute stillness and monumentality of his figures, erect and impassive, must strike the viewer as either strangely intentional or curiously inept. Often one makes a journey from the latter to the former perception as one stares for any length of time at the real thing, the frescos intact in their church-architectural context. Or perhaps another impresson will develop, of Piero as a precursor of such modern impersonalized, monumental figure painters as the Italian Futurists, or Botero, or Diego Rivera.

Piero, like Leonardo, was no simple guild craftsman. Rather he was a subtle mathematician, whose comprehension of perspective in painting was surely based on his manipulation of numbers. This interesting book, with some 32 color plates, turns the tools of historical scholarship on the interactive of Piero's mathematical humanism with his identity as a painter of religious iconography. There are many more of Piero's paintings to look at than of Leonardo's, and if anything the hidden codes - both the iconography and the clues about his patrons and their desires - are more baffling. This might be the kind of book to read in preparation for your next trip to Italy, if ever the dollar returns to a level to make such a project feasible.

Historian Carlo Ginzburg - author of The Worm and the Cheese - has written an even more stimulating "detective-novel" biography of Piero, "The Enigma of Piero",but it has no comparable color plates.

A Mathematician's Art
It is quite amazing to stop and consider that in today's world almost anything - and I mean literally anything - if marketed properly and able to be sold for profit in a gallery (regardless of quality or creator's intelligence) is too often pawned off as fine art. Once sold those one trick ponies are ultimately meaningless, and worthless.

There was a time when art meant something. Having either a context of social or political meaning, an item of spirituality and beauty or even ugliness, art once stood for solid ideological principles which could always be backed by the creator's talent of hand, eye, and certainly mind. One of the greatest artists of the early Italian Renaissance, an accomplished mathematician, Piero della Francesca painted religious works that are marked by their simple serenity and clarity and by the pure virtue of his genius; he certainly ranks among one of the greatest men who ever created fine art.

Often in great works there are interesting connections between mathematics and art and Piero della Francesca - A Mathematician's Art clearly outlines that the work of della Francesca shows no exception to that connection. The book leaves the reader with an enhanced and enlightened understanding of his paintings and writings. A painter of the fifteenth century, della Francesca`s skills and talents are explored in this the first combined study of his career as both a mathematician, and as a painter.

Author J. V. Field is an honorary visiting research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London. Field has done a stunning job of describing della Francesca's background as well as the artists interests and constant ability to create outstanding works of lasting artistic significance. Field goes in-depth into della Francesca's training as an artist and examines the powerful sense of his 3D forms, his abstraction abilities, and the often-solid geometry of his writings. Field also outlines della Francesca's treatise on perspective and paintings examining the all-important optical "rules" the artist followed in his pictorial placement.

The book concludes with an important consideration of the historical significance of della Francesca's tradition and connections to the Scientific Revolution. Through the art and Field's text Piero della Francesca is rightfully described as a man of intellectual strength. The book at 420 pages is beautifully illustrated with 32 color illustrations and 50 black and white.

Highly recommended.
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Product Description
Few artists of the fifteenth century are as revered today as Piero della Francesca (c.1413-92). The 'favourite artist' of many painters and sculptors of our own time, he is admired especially for the balance of his compositions, the geometric perfection of his forms and the emotional coolness of his style. The secret of these qualities lies in part in Piero's achievements as a mathematician - one of the greatest of his age who wrote three treatises on the subject. Yet most of his paintings were commissioned to serve a religious function and were appreciated by his contemporaries for their spiritual value.

In this comprehensive survey, which benefits from superlative new photography of recently cleaned frescos, Marilyn Aronberg Lavin offers detailed analyses of all of Piero's surviving works. Situating his paintings within the context of early Renaissance art, religion and politics, she skilfully links past and present to offer an understanding of the artist's timeless appeal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Rich in text
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.

A lavish treatment of a fascinating painter
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 dimchurch-light.

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

Product Description
What makes a masterpiece? John Pope-Hennessy, the preeminent expert on Italian Renaissance art, examines the works of master Piero della Francesca, painting by painting and fresco by fresco. The author discusses the stories the works portray, their meticulous composition, the questions they raise, and their place within the artistic context of the time. This volume includes the famous Aldous Huxley essay “The Best Picture,” which inspired Pope-Hennessy to seek out the enigmatic works that now constitute the pilgrimage known as the Piero della Francesca Trail. 56 full-color photos are featured. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

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

A compact delight
One of the pleasures of a small book is the ability to savour the author's writing.This volume combines Huxley's essay (which makes the startling claim that Piero's Resurrection is the best painting in the world) with Pope-Hennessy's lucid descriptions of Piero's works.The plates are wonderful and well arranged. PH's swipes at Kenneth Clark and John Mortimer would seem churlish in a larger, more ponderous volume, but are merely charmingly opinionated here.A lovely way to spend an hour or two.

This Trail is worth finding
This small volume (fewer than 60 pages of text) is well worth tracking down through the 'out-of- print' mechanisms. Originally a lecture, the bookintroduces Piero della Francesca as a "reclusive, silent, rathertaciturn friend", but a friend nonetheless. Mr Henessey's rounded analysis and warm descriptions of both the painter and his paintingscertainly allow the reader to establish a relationship with Piero.Depsite the author's slightly disparaging remark about "tourists intheir rented Fiats" following the Piero della Francesca trail, I urgetravellers (Fiat driven, armchairor others) to increase their knowledge,appreciation and sheer enjoyment of Piero byslipping this volume intotheir luggage or onto the bookshelf.The book is usefully illustrated.

This Trail is worth finding
This small volume (fewer than 60 pages of text) is well worth tracking down through the 'out-of- print' mechanisms. Originally a lecture, the bookintroduces Piero della Francesca as a "reclusive, silent, rathertaciturn friend", but a friend nonetheless. Mr Henessey's rounded analysis and warm descriptions of both the painter and his paintingscertainly allow the reader to establish a relationship with Piero.Depsite the author's slightly disparaging remark about "tourists intheir rented Fiats" following the Piero della Francesca trail, I urgetravellers (Fiat driven, armchairor others) to increase their knowledge,appreciation and sheer enjoyment of Piero byslipping this volume intotheir luggage or onto the bookshelf.The book is usefully illustrated.

This Trail is worth finding
This small volume (fewer than 60 pages of text) is well worth tracking down through the 'out-of- print' mechanisms. Originally a lecture, the bookintroduces Piero della Francesca as a "reclusive, silent, rathertaciturn friend", but a friend nonetheless. Mr Henessey's rounded analysis and warm descriptions of both the painter and his paintingscertainly allow the reader to establish a relationship with Piero.Depsite the author's slightly disparaging remark about "tourists intheir rented Fiats" following the Piero della Francesca trail, I urgetravellers (Fiat driven, armchairor others) to increase their knowledge,appreciation and sheer enjoyment of Piero byslipping this volume intotheir luggage or onto the bookshelf.The book is usefully illustrated. ... Read more

Product Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Next Best After a Visit to Arezzo
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.

piero: san francesco frescoes
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.

Incredible experience
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. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a new English version of the third edition (1963) of Longhi's seminal work on the Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca, with an introduction by Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Keith Christiansen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

STILL THE BEST BOOK ON PIERO
This remains the best book on Piero della Francesca, one of the world's greatest artists. It has influenced many books but still has no equal--afteralmost 80 years!Great it is back in print. ... Read more

Product Description
The Rizzoli Art Classics series brings you Piero della Francesca, Titian, Caravaggio, and Velázquez, all inbeautifully illustrated monographs, offering high-quality reproductions in compact, accessible volumes.These books feature a literary introduction by a renowned art historian, a thoroughly researched essay, and captions describing the artist's most famous canvases. A useful appendix section includes an extensive chronology of the artist's life and important historical events of his time; a compilation of writings by well-known historians, insight into each painter's stylistic development; a geographical table detailing the location of each painting in the book; and a concise bibliography with suggested further readings.With authoritative text by leading art historians, these lavishly illustrated editions provide fresh insight into the art and lives of some of the most fascinating artists in the history of painting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Piero della Francesca
Often art historians are very knowledgable about their subject, but their ability to write borders on incompitence.This book is horribly written, and the preface is really just a joke.In attempts to sound erudite and profound the authors often sound foolish.The text abounds with pretentious diction and creates quagmires out of simple subjects.It's simply bad writing."The Masterpieces" section isn't so bad and is perhaps the only redeeming part in the text.The illustrations are very good though, and just for them the book is worth the ten dollars. It's a nice introduction to the artist. ... Read more

Product Description
In this book, Perry Brooks, an authority on Italian Renaissance painting who has taught at Columbia University, introduces the subtleties of Piero's frescoes for the general reader and solves a conundrum of their narrative organization that has long puzzled specialists.

Also available in the Rizzoli Art Series

Mary Cassatt by Nancy Mowll Mathews
Winslow Homer by Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr.
Edward Hopper by Karal Ann Marling
Jasper Johns by Roberta Bernstein
Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera
Jacob Lawrence by Richard J. Powell
Kazimir Malevich by Alison Hilton
Henri Matisse by Roger Benjamin
Camille Pissarro by Joachim Pissarro
Rembrandt by Larry Silver
Georges Seurat by Norma Broude
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Customer Reviews (1)

Buyer Beware
This book is only 24 pages NOT the 80 pages listed here.Imagine my surprise and disappointment at receiving what is really more a large pamphlet than a book. It does have fourteen full-page color images, if that's enough for you.It wasn't for me. ... Read more

Product Description
Sifting the available evidence, Carlo Ginzburg builds up a vivid portrait of Piero della Francesca's patrons and convincingly explains the contemporary intrigues resonant in his painting. This new edition, extensively illustrated, includes additional material by Ginzburg dealing with the work of Roberto Longhi, the dating of the Arezzo Cycle, and the rediscovery of della Francesca in the twentieth century. 123 color & b/w illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The enigma of Carlo
An immense pleasure! Carlo Ginsburg reminds us more than once that he is not an art historian, but an historian. As such, his approach to paintings such as Piero della Francesca's "Flagellation" which to our eyes are difficult if not unfathomable iconographically, is not bound to the orthodoxies of specialist methodology. If this sounds heady and dense, it is. This is not a book for the casual admirer of Renaissance painting because much of the suspense(and it is suspenseful) is reading the author's discrediting of other interpretations(these are often amusing), suggesting the roadmap he will take to circumvent the errors of the previous historians, then elegantly exhuming the necessary evidence and reasoning to produce-voila- a fresh, impressively founded exegisis before our very eyes. One marvels at the depth and breadth of cultural knowledge that is this historian's primary resource, and facility with archives. But there is another dimension to this book. As one reads, one understands that this is the work of contemporary humanist, and the source of his insights is perhaps this empathy, if not kinship with his subject, whether patron or artist. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

The Full Light
Look at fifteenth-century artist PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA for one answer to what Netherlands-style bright colors, detail, light, and nature did for Florentine Renaissance painting and early 16th-century Venetian art. His formula of detail, light, shape and space is unforgettable in the natural halo and perfectly geometrical wall shape formed by reflected lighting in his Madonna of Senigallia, the pioneer miniaturistic background landscapes in his portraits of the Montefeltros and in his Nativity, the saintly hair strand by strand in his Arezzo Cathedral fresco of Mary Magdalen, and the 3-D skin tones for his portrait of Sigismondo Malatesta. Alessandro Angelini is one of the Scala/Riverside published writers on Italian artists. His unique book tells what came after in the art world covered by Jill Dunkerton's GIOTTO TO DURER and Jean-Claude Frere's EARLY FLEMISH PAINTING. Likewise the author makes it clear what led into Bernard Berenson's THE ITALIAN PAINTERS OF THE RENAISSANCE, Marcia B. Hall's AFTER RAPHAEL, Peter Humfrey's PAINTING IN RENAISSANCE VENICE, David Rosand's PAINTING IN 16TH-CENTURY VENICE, and Seymour Slive's DUTCH PAINTING 1600-1800. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

How does one define "sublime"?
The truth is that it is impossible for me to be objective when it comes to Piero. I could look at reproductions on bathroom tissue and be transported.

This large format volume has excellent graphics and particularly in view of its very reasonable price, no lover of the Italian Renaissance should be without it.If you are going to "do" the Piero Trail....what you haven't done it yet?....get this book first. You could be rendered speechless by the beauty of these paintings.

And if you are contemplating the Piero Trail, first see the wonderful British TV production of John Mortimer's Summer's Lease.A swan song, sort of, for John Gielgud, who with classic British understatement shows us what great acting is all about.But I digress;the book is well worth having in your permanent collection ... Read more