Italy: 'Torture of the Hebrew, Giuda tortured in the well' from the History of the True Cross fresco by Piero della Francesca (painted between 1447 and 1466), Bacci Chapel, Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo, Tuscany (2016)

The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and an early Renaissance masterpiece.

Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacopo da Voragine, the Golden Legend, is the triumph of the True Cross – the legend of the wood from the Garden of Eden becoming the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This work demonstrates Piero’s advanced knowledge of perspective and colour, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From History