Piero della Francesca's Myth Explored in Forlì Exhibition

The exhibition 'Piero della Francesca. Indagine su un mito' at Musei di San Domenico in Forlì investigates the artist's legacy and myth, particularly his 20th-century revival. Curated by a scientific committee of fourteen scholars led by Antonio Paolucci, the show includes only four original works by Piero due to the immovability of his masterpieces, but focuses on his influence on modern artists from de Chirico to Morandi. Paolucci, former director of the Uffizi and current director of the Vatican Museums, explains that the exhibition's novelty lies in presenting Piero's 'mitografia'—how he resurfaced after centuries of obscurity, reaching a zenith in 1927 with Roberto Longhi's monograph. The show also highlights Piero's scientific approach to proportion and perspective, which captivated 20th-century formalists, and his rural roots in Borgo Sansepolcro, resonating with the 'Strapaese' movement. Paolucci notes that while all new philological insights have been exhausted by scholars like Carlo Ginzburg, this exhibition is the first to visually trace Piero's myth. The show runs until June 26, 2016, and is accompanied by a catalog from Silvana Editoriale.