The Legend of the True Cross

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The Legend of the True Cross
Arezzo Piero general 04.JPG
Artist Piero della Francesca
Yearc.1452–1466
Type Fresco
Location Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo

The Legend of the True Cross (Italian : Leggenda della Vera Croce) or The History of the True Cross (Storie della Vera Croce) is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and an early Renaissance masterpiece.

Contents

Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacobus de Voragine, the Golden Legend , is the triumph of the True Cross the legend of the wood from the Garden of Eden becoming the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This work demonstrates Piero's advanced knowledge of perspective and colour, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction.

History

Detail of The Death of Adam after and before restoration Piero della Francesca - A detail after and before restoration - WGA17591.jpg
Detail of The Death of Adam after and before restoration

Dating of the frescoes is uncertain, but they are believed to date from after 1447, when the Bacci family, commissioners of the frescoes, are recorded as having paid an unknown painter. It would have been finished around 1466. Most of the choir was painted in the early- to mid-1450s. Although the design of the frescoes is evidently Piero's, he seems to have delegated small parts of the painting to assistants, as was usual. The hand of Giovanni di Piamonte, in particular, can be recognised in some of the frescoes.

An exhaustive restoration began in 1991 and was completed in 2000.

Episodes

Arezzo San Francesco frescos 02.jpg
Center, from the top:
  • Death of Adam
  • Adoration of the Holy Wood and the Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
  • Battle between Constantine and Maxentius

Left side, from the top:

  • Burial of the Wood
  • Constantine's Dream
Arezzo San Francesco frescos 01.jpg
Center, from the top:
  • Exaltation of the Cross
  • Discovery and Proof of the True Cross
  • Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes

Right side, from the top:

  • Torture of the Jew
  • Annunciation

The main episodes depicted are:

Detail of Battle between Heraclius and Khosrau. Piero della Francesca 025.jpg
Detail of Battle between Heraclius and Khosrau.

Piero diverged from his source material in a few important respects, including the story of King Solomon's meeting with the Queen of Sheba in a chronologically inaccurate place and giving greater emphasis to the two battles in which Christianity triumphs over paganism.

The cycle ends with a depiction of the Annunciation, not strictly part of the Legend of the True Cross but probably included by Piero for its universal meaning.

Bibliography

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