The Discovery of the True Cross

c. 1460 - Fresco, 356 x 747 cm - San Francesco, Arezzo

This is one of Piero's most complex and monumental compositions. On the left he painted the discovery of the three crosses in a field, outside Jerusalem's walls, while on the right, in a street, the True Cross is recognised. His genius, which allowed him to find his inspiration in the humble country life as well as in the glamour of the court's atmosphere and in the urban environment of cities such as Florence and Arezzo, reaches in this fresco the maximum level of visual variety. The scene on the left shows the field work and human efforts interpreted as acts of epic heroism, emphasised by the character's solemn gestures, paralysed in their ritual fatigue. Beyond the hills, in the background, Piero painted Jerusalem in the afternoon light. This is one of the most unique views of Arezzo, encircled by its walls and enriched by the variety of its coloured buildings, with grey stones and red bricks. Piero's sensitivity in the use of colours allows him to reproduce the nature of the different materials and, through the use of different nuances he renders the different seasons and the differents moments of the day. He expressed such sensitivity at his best in this fresco, confirming his detachment from the Florentine painters of his time.
On the right, in front of Minerva's Temple, whose façade made of different types of marble reminds of Alberti's buildings, Empress Helena and her entourage stand by the stretcher with the young dead man; suddenly, when touched by the Holy Wood, he resurrects. The inclined cross, the young man's body with a quick view of his profile, the semi-circle created by the dames accompanying Helena and the shadows projected on the ground, are all elements that have been carefully studied to obtain a three-dimension perception of depth never seen before in the history of art.