Thursday, November 30, 2006

Piero della Francesca



Painted ca. 1470.
The Madonna with saints.
The white pearl of virginity in the shell above her head, her body covered by a mantel of dark tissue.
Or in a simpler way: the shell of her body (womb) with the pearl of her egg ( the child on her knees ).
Precious, however you read it.

3 comments:

Sir G said...

and at the Madonna's feet, Federigo Montefeltro, a personal hero; a knight, but also a man of art and culture; the ruler of Urbino (it is at his short-ruling son's court, in the fading ambiance of Federigo barely departed, that The Book of the Courtier will be written); who built one of the most beautiful renaissance palaces there; this painting is in Brera (i think; at any rate, in Milan) and was my introduction to Piero della Francesca; a better Federigo hangs in the Uffizzi. i will send you a reproduction... :)

Yvette Centeno said...

thanks, Gawain, don't forget to do it.
Unfortunately when I went to Milano I was eager to see modern painting, and the races in Monza, I was 18, with the folly of the age!

Sir G said...

ah, modern painting, yes, folly of youth: i could not believe the crowds in Venice waiting to see the P guggenheim museum -- and the Slvator Dali show -- while the Accademia was gleaming empty. i skipped both and went to see the Accademie several times instead.