"There comes a point in life when the artists one has known cease to be objects of research and become friends". So begins John Pope-Hennessy's highly personal tribute to della Francesca, the master of the Quattrocento.
What makes a masterpiece? And what - exactly - does an art historian see and think about when they look at a painting?
In this classic guide to Piero della Francesca's work, John Pope-Hennessy takes the paintings and frescoes one by one, describing stories they portray, their meticulous composition and the questions about them that remain unanswered.
He explains the new ideas in the air in 1439 when the young Piero joined his first studio as well as the crucial and surprising role of fate in the commission for the church of San Francesco.
This volume brings together for the first time this essential text and Aldous Huxley's 'The Best Picture', the famous essay that inspired Pope-Hennessy to seek out the luminous and enigmatic works that now constitute the pilgrimage known as The Piero della Francesca Trail.
