Piero Della Francesca
Known for his sculptural use of light, Piero della Francesca created works that are a perfect confluence of the underpinnings of the RenaissanceAby someone who helped invent it. Calvesi presents up-to-date scholarship in the reassessment of Piero based on recent archive discoveries and restorations of paintings, including the Arezzo Frescoes. He provides careful descriptive analysis of the major works with attention to biography and development, achievement, historical circumstance, philosophy, and influences on and by the artist. The second section contains full color plates and is insightful for its portrayal of iconographic images in such works as the "Misericordia Polyptych," reproducing this important work in its entirety. The catalog of works preceding the final extensive bibliography illustrates each painting in black and white with references to previous scholarship and description of the condition of each piece. This beautiful, inviting book should appeal to Renaissance scholars and students of Italian art; recommended for special, research, and large public collections.AEllen Bates, New YorkCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.