Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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).

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Bertelli's densely reasoned monographic study of the early Renaissance master Piero della Francesca proffers a plethora of provocative but not equally compelling insights into the artist's life, work, and style. Not only has he convincingly reconstructed Piero's probable peregrinations, the plausible chronology of his paintings, and their manifold sources and stylistic links, but he also provides a wealth of significant insights into crucial masterpieces and the painter's writings on mathematics and perspective. A comprehensive but far from exhaustive catalog of the surviving paintings helps round out the text's lacunae. An excellent complement to Bertelli's work is Ronald Lightbown's Piero della Francesca ( LJ 7/92). While scholars will need to ponder the somewhat divergent conclusions of both authors, general readers are better served by Lightbown's engaged evocation of the works themselves and by his coherent arguments and lucid prose.-- Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Bertelli's monograph is the second big book on Piero della Francesca published in the past few months, reflecting both the 1992 quincentenary of Piero's death and the continuing interest in this often enigmatic painter (cf. R. Lightbown, Piero della Francesca, CH, Oct'92). Compared to Lightbown, Bertelli is thinner in his discussion of historical events, and rather than providing a detailed analysis of each of Piero's works, as Lightbown attempts, Bertelli offers chapters that concentrate on select major works, although he appends a catalog covering Piero's entire oeuvre. What distinguishes Bertelli's book is the mostly excellent quality of the color plates, contrasting favorably with Lightbown's often muddy illustrations. For libraries with limited budgets, this reviewer recommends Bertelli's volume over Lightbown's, principally on the basis of the superb plates. Although neither book really functions as an introduction to Piero della Francesca both assume some familiarity with complex iconographic and technical arguments Bertelli seems more accessible than Lightbown, and is perhaps better suited for undergraduate use. J. I. Miller; California State University, Long Beach

Booklist Review

The brilliant, sophisticated, and poetic work of the Renaissance painter Piero Della Francesca has garnered renewed appreciation and study following the recent restoration of his grand fresco cycles and other key paintings. Of these two handsomely illustrated biographies, Lightbown's is the more lavish and readable, with its larger page size, pleasing design, and fluid prose style. Both authors examine Piero's life, education, and influences and detail the circumstances of his important commissions. Piero was a master of interpretative perspective, expressive contrast, and luminous color. In both books, his techniques are analyzed and compared with those of his peers. Over the years, as Piero's style and outlook matured, his figures become infused with an increasing emotional intensity that translated into quiet strength, dignity, piety, and resolve. Lightbown does a particularly good job of explicating the Christian doctrine behind Piero's narrative and symbolic works, while both authors establish a cultural and religious context for his images and emphases. Numerous details of major works, such as the enigmatic Flagellation, the Baptism, considered his most beautiful painting, the powerful Arezzo and Borgo frescoes, and the magnificent Brera altarpiece, enrich the viewing and reading experience. While the Yale volume is a superb publication, you really do get what you pay for with the Abbeville Press book. ~--Donna Seaman