https://www.cexpet.com/the-mathematical-sublime-analyzing-piero-della-francescas-masterpieces/
It was a hot and humid afternoon. I walked into the Galleria Nazionale del Marche in Urbino, hoping to find a place to calm down. As the sun shone obliquely on the old stone floor, I caught a glimpse of a small painting in the corner, which seemed to be ignored by many people. But my eyes were fixed on it.
” Flagellation of Christ “. This altar painting is only 58×81 cm, but it seems to have swallowed up a universe. Four pillars support a space, and in the background, a chilling violent scene quietly unfolds, while in the most conspicuous position, three well-dressed men look calm, as if nothing has happened.
First meeting: Who is the protagonist and who is hidden?
The first time you see this painting, you may also be “misled” by it: the picture seems to be neatly split in half by a ruler. On the right, there is the cold and almost ruthless black and white checkered floor, and several figures stand between the pillars, as if performing a tragedy. Christ is in it, tied and whipped. On the left, there is another atmosphere – the warm brick red floor, three well-dressed men stand here, almost obscuring everything in the background.
You would think they were the protagonists. You might even miss the suffering that was quietly going on in the depths. If the sunlight had not just passed through the gaps between the pillars, the vaguely twisted body might have been overlooked forever.
The painter himself: a silent person who loves mathematics
Piero della Francesca was active in Italy in the mid-15th century. He painted, but also wrote works on geometry – a mathematician and artist, which was not uncommon in the Renaissance. But his works were different from the “lively” common in that era.
There are no exaggerated gold ornaments, nor does he pursue bright colors. He likes the coolness in the light, the precision of the structure, and the coldness of the perspective. He does not tell stories, but arranges the scenes and lets the viewers fall into them. This ” Flagellation of Christ ” is probably his deepest sigh.
Three bystanders: Do they see the same thing as we do?
They were almost motionless. The three men standing on the red brick floor on the left seemed to have their own secrets.
The young man in the middle has a delicate face but empty eyes. Some say he is Odantonio da Montefeltro, a noble who died young. Maybe the portrait is of him, or maybe he is used to express something.
The big man on the left, wearing brocade and gold trim, stands steadily, with not much expression on his face;
The alien envoy wearing a red hat on the far right is a little elusive. He doesn’t look at us and may even be talking in a low voice with the person next to him.
Are they people in the story? Or are they the embodiment of a political allegory? We have no way of knowing for sure, but their silence is more disturbing than any words. What did they see, and why did they remain indifferent?
Flagellation of Christ ” in the rear : Who is being punished and who is being forgotten?
At the deepest part of the painting, the three pillars are like some kind of barrier, separating the sacred from the secular. Christ is there, bending over to be tortured, and the two whippers are moving stiffly. They are placed very far back – almost retreating beyond the boundary of history.
This is not a coincidence. Piero seems to have deliberately made the violence “inconspicuous”, so that the first impact we feel is not pain, but indifference.
This is even more heartbreaking.
Dislocation of light, composition and meaning
From the left side of the picture, a beam of light shines in diagonally, just brightening the clothes and faces of the three men in the foreground. They are a little too bright, while the background – where the martyr is located – is vaguely visible in the shadows.
What’s more subtle is that the vanishing point of the painting does not fall on Christ, but on the brick floor in the foreground, where the pillars meet. In other words, the “perspective center” of the painting is not on the suffering itself, but on those seemingly indifferent, yet expressionless bystanders who are bowing their heads in contemplation.
If Christ symbolizes the core of faith, then Piero seems to be questioning this time: Has people’s faith no longer seen suffering?
Conclusion: Which side of the painting are we on?
Every time I look at this painting, I can’t help but ask myself: In such a precise and calm painting, who is really being “whipped”?
Is it the Christ vaguely visible behind the pillar? Is it the audience standing on the brick floor on the canvas? Or is it us, modern people standing in front of the painting, seeing everything but not knowing what to do?
Piero did not use exaggerated movements or shout slogans. He simply arranged a “defocused” way of viewing, so that everyone who looked at the painting had to re-examine themselves. Who did you see? Have you ever, like those three viewers, quietly turned pain into the background in the foreground of reality?
He’s still whipping, but we’re not looking back anymore.
https://www.cexpet.com/the-mathematical-sublime-analyzing-piero-della-francescas-masterpieces/
