Saint Louis of Toulouse is a fresco fragment of 1460 by Piero della Francesca, removed from its original wall in the former Palazzo Pretorio in Sansepolcro, Tuscany, in the mid-19th century, and now in the Museo Civico in the same town.[1] The detachment destroyed a Latin inscription recording Ludovico Acciaioli as the commissioner and 1460 as the work's date, on the occasion of the town's revival of the role of gonfaloniere of justice.
| Saint Louis of Toulouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | 1460 |
| Dimensions | 123 cm (48 in) × 90 cm (35 in) |
The poor state of conservation has led to attribution difficulties in the past, with Roberto Longhi attributing the work to Lorentino d'Arezzo rather than to Piero della Francesca, but a 1998 restoration has revealed the use of volume and colour and reinforced its status as an autograph work by Piero.[2] It follows the usual iconography of Louis of Toulouse, showing him as a young man in a Franciscan habit under episcopal vestments, similar to Donatello's statue of the saint in Florence. The vestments' edge is decorated with figures of saints in a similar way to the artist's Saint Augustine in Lisbon.[3]
References
edit- ^ Chieli, Francesca (2002), "Il San Ludovico tra virtuale e reale nella sede del Museo civico", in Brilli, A.; Chieli, F. (eds.), Piero della Francesca. Il Museo civico di Sansepolcro (in Italian), Cinisello Balsamo (MI): Silvana Editoriale, pp. 105–118, ISBN 88-8215-248-0
- ^ Chieli, Francesca (2000), "Il San Ludovico di Piero da pittura murale a "tableau" museale", in Gasparotto, D. (ed.), Il restauro del San Ludovico di Piero della Francesca (in Italian), Montepulciano (SI): Le Balze, pp. 39–66, ISBN 88-87187-12-6
- ^ Laskowski, Birgit (2007), Piero della Francesca, Maestri dell'arte italiana (in Italian), Milan: Gribaudo, ISBN 978-3-8331-3757-0