Piero Della Francesca A&I (Art and Ideas)
Among the key artists of the early Renaissance period, Piero created work with an abiding resonance for the modern sensibility. In his sumptuously illustrated text, art scholar Lightbown ( Botticelli , Abbeville, 1989) subjects the master's oeuvre to a profoundly rewarding scrutiny out of which emerges a wealth of original formal and iconographic observations and insights. Joining meticulous descriptive analysis to a masterful comprehension of the documentary evidence, the author provocatively reconsiders the chronology of some of the artist's most famous paintings, then explicates with equal originality Piero's employment of perspective. Lightbown makes critical observations about the placement, function, medium, and condition of the works. This close study does not, however, slight contextual problems of historical milieu, patronage, and sty listic influences. This is simply the best work on Piero in the English language.-Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New YorkCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.