Piero della Francesca

Timeline

1. c. 1415–1445Borgo San Sepolcro · Province of ArezzoPiero was born in San Sepolcro and early on traveled to Florence, where around 1439 he assisted Domenico Veneziano in painting frescoes in the church of Sant'Egidio, gaining broad exposure to early Renaissance perspective techniques exemplified by Masaccio. He systematically studied Euclidean geometry and applied mathematical proportions rigorously to composition, forming his signature tranquil, geometric style.
2. c. 1452–1466Church of San Francesco, Arezzo · ArezzoFrom about 1452 Piero was commissioned to paint the monumental fresco cycle of the Legend of the True Cross on the high altar of San Francesco in Arezzo, based on Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend. Comprising twelve scenes, it interweaves narratives such as the death of Adam, King Solomon receiving the sacred wood, the dream of Constantine, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, and Emperor Heraclius returning the True Cross, renowned for its grand architectural sense of space and precise perspective, taking over ten years to complete. The cycle is one of the most important fresco groups in the history of Western painting.
3. 1451–1460Rimini, Ferrara, Urbino · MarchesIn 1451 Piero went to Rimini to paint a portrait of Sigismondo Malatesta, combining the portrait with the architectural backdrop of the Tempio Malatestiano, demonstrating his precise mastery of architectural perspective. In the 1450s he also created the Baptism of Christ (now in the National Gallery, London) and the Flagellation of Christ (now in the Marches National Gallery, Urbino), the latter's enigmatic two-scene composition provoking centuries of scholarly debate. During the same period he traveled between the courts of Ferrara and Urbino, receiving portrait and religious painting commissions from local nobles.
4. c. 1470–1492San Sepolcro · TuscanyAfter his eyesight declined in later life, Piero turned to mathematical writing, completing three major works—On the Abacus, On the Five Regular Solids, and On Perspective in Painting—systematizing the perspective of painting into a mathematical theory that directly influenced Luca Pacioli and later perspective and geometry. He died in San Sepolcro on October 12, 1492.