“The Resurrection of Christ” ( Italian: Resurrezione ) - a fresco by Piero della Francesca , made by him around 1460. It is located in the Borgo Sansepolcro Art Museum ( Tuscany ) - the artist’s hometown.
| ||
| Piero della Francesca | ||
| The resurrection of Christ . OK. 1460 | ||
| Resurrezione | ||
| tempera. 225 × 200 cm | ||
| Pinacoteca Komunale, Sansepolcro | ||
The fresco was ordered by the city to decorate the town hall. The theme of the Resurrection for painting was probably chosen by chance: the name Sansepolcro translates as “Holy Tomb”. She is depicted on the arms of the city. The lack of a description of the scene of the Resurrection in the Gospel gives artists complete freedom in interpreting it.
The version of Piero della Francesco is static. Jesus is represented not yet freed from "earthly, physical physicality." He stands in the center of the composition in a pink toga that does not hide the wound, with a banner - a symbol of the Resurrection. His “athletic” (as defined by O. Huxley ), motionless figure dominates the four sleeping soldiers , their deep sleep is a dream of the human spirit, which was not affected by divine illumination. The landscape behind Christ is symbolically divided into two parts: on the left - winter black branches, bare land, on the right - spring trees, leafy, grass. This is a reminder of salvation and a new life beginning with the Resurrection of Jesus.
For about two centuries, the fresco was under a layer of plaster. When the plaster was removed, it turned out that the work of Piero della Francesco was well preserved [1] . At the beginning of the XX century, many of the travelers in Italy called in the provincial Sansepolcro to express their tribute to the famous fresco. Among them was the Russian art critic P.P. Muratov :
Purely Florentine enthusiasm remained devoted to the artist in these difficult and diverse poses of the sleeping warriors. Who could have so faithfully found the bend of the back of a soldier in a green cloak and a reddish helmet, or with such power to put a magnificent Roman head on the powerful neck of the next warrior and so sensitively convey the tension of his right shoulder. In these four figures, the Florentine quattrocento , absorbed in figured passion, found one of its highest achievements. But with the unknownness of Florence, Pierrot felt impressionable, in addition, the significance of individual colors - green, scarlet, lilac and golden brown, colors of clothes - and their general harmony, their “burning" in pearl and silver of dawn. The breath of some immeasurables of the world, of nature, felt as the ancients felt it, dominates here everything: the formal theme of figures and even the theme of Christian resurrection. [2]
Aldous Huxley, who called this mural “the most beautiful painting in the world”, indirectly saved the “Resurrection”, and with it the city of Sansepolcro. During World War II, British captain Anthony Clark stopped shelling the city, recalling Huxley's essay and his words about the Resurrection of Christ. By then, the German units had already left Sansepolcro.
The history of the mural is dedicated to the 15th series of the British television series “The Private Life of a Masterpiece” (2004).
Notes
- ↑ Huxley O. On the Road / Transl. from English L. Volodarsky. - M .: B.S.G.-PRESS, 2005 .-- 223 p. - (Sac de Voyage) - ISBN 5-93381-164-5
- ↑ P.P. Muratov. “Images of Italy”, volume 3.
Literature
- Zuffy S. Episodes and Gospel Characters in Fine Art. - M .: Omega, 2007.S. 338-330 ISBN 978-5-456-01501-1 .
- Zuggi, Stefano (1991). Piero della Francesca. Milan.