This course will consist of three one-hour long slide lectures. Time will be available after the lectures for questions and discussion. Piero lived in central Italy from 1415 to 1492, at the height of the Italian Renaissance. He was born in the small Tuscan town of Borgo San Sepolcro but early in his career obtained commissions from noble houses, including the Papacy and, most frequently, Frederico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino. Under the sponsorship of the Duke, Piero studied mathematics and became one of the discoverers [or inventors] of linear perspective and introduced it into pictorial representation. The first lecture will focus on Piero’s biography, his travels, and his personal history. The last two lectures will focus on his art: his paintings and frescos with emphasis in the last lecture on his fresco, Resurrection, found in the town hall of San Sepolcro. This is the fresco describe by Aldous Huxley as “the best picture in the world.” In a book titled The Piero Della Francesca Trail by John Pope-Hennessey, he seems to endorse that opinion. Class Limit: 30
Books that would add to your enjoyment of the course are:
The Piero Della Francesca Trail by John Poe Hennessey
The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects by Giorgio Vasari
Instructor Brett Donham has retired after practicing architecture for 50 years. He has offered three previous courses at Senior College: 2000 Years of Church Design, Ideal Cities from the Book of Revelation to the 20th Century, and the Baroque Painter Caravaggio. He has been to Italy 16 times, and has seen most of the paintings he will be talking about. He has seen Resurrection three times.
Snow dates February 24; March 3