Legend of the True Cross: Annunciation, Piero della Francesca

Résumé du document

Piero della Francesca's fresco is an overall vertical composition. It is organized in four roughly equal parts: the white vertical column divides the space in the middle while the two stories building and the dark lines that follow the top of the first story divides it on a horizontal axis. In the two bottom quadrants the angel and the Virgin Mary are standing, whereas the two top quadrants are composed of God on the left and a purely architectural space on the right that is the second floor of the building, with a window in it and a rope and a loop crossing upon it. Thus, the fresco is hierarchically composed with respect to both the architecture and the "Istoria".

Extraits

[...] Moreover, complicated geometric patterns decorate the walls of the building behind the angel and the Virgin Mary. The sense of depth and volume is also remarkable. It is first created by the architectural structure. The geometrical construction that the artist is using appeals to the viewer's rational sense of perspective: there is a logical change of lines in space. The lines of the edges of the ceiling above the Virgin Mary go diagonally to show the depth of the building. The edges of the building in the top left quadrant follow the same logic too. [...]

[...] Piero della Francesca uses overlapping to create a sense of space. The only quadrant that is out of the architectural space seems quite flat since there is no perspective in the cloud or in the blue sky. Another way used by della Francesca to create volumes is shading, from the main light that comes from the top right corner. There is depth in the building also because of the shadow that goes through the window on the second floor. The characters look volumetric because he uses different tones in the colors of their bright clothes; we can see, for example, in the Virgin Mary's dress that he uses high and low value of red to indicate her leg and the depth and movement of her clothing. [...]

[...] Legend of the True Cross: Annunciation, Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca's fresco is an overall vertical composition. It is organized in four roughly equal parts ; the white vertical column divides the space in the middle while the two stories building and the dark line that follows the top of the first story divides it on a horizontal axis. In the two bottom quadrants the angel and the Virgin Mary are standing, whereas the two top quadrants are composed of God on the left and a purely architectural space on the right that is the second floor of the building, with a window in it and a rope and a loop crossing upon it. [...]

[...] He holds up his right hand, his fingers bending a little bit downwards, and holds a flower in his left hand. He is not under the building, contrary to the Virgin Mary. Above him in the top left quadrant is God. He is facing forward looking down at the scene happening under him. The half of his body below the waist is hidden by the clouds. He holds both hands down and open as if he was giving something to the other characters. [...]