Uccello

• Uccello was born in 1397 and died in 1475. He was a Florentine painter.

• Problems of space and perspective occupied Uccello’s thoughts. This can be seen clearly in his paintings.

• At first glance his paintings appear charming and decorative but there is a carefully worked out geometrical structure to most of his work.

Uccello uses LINE and SHAPE to give the illusion of depth. He

chooses a certain point of perspective in his paintings and

echoes this through different images within the painting.

The Flood / The Deluge

Detail below

Vanishing pointThe Deluge

The Hunt by Night

• This painting adopts the same approach, here the dogs are treated as rhythmical shapes which decrease in size as they recede into the painting. This gives a sense of depth to the piece The logs lead us visually into the central space of the painting.

Hunt by night /Hunt in the forest

• While Uccello absorbed himself in the study of perspective, he never used it for the naturalistic purposes that Masaccio had envisaged.

• His themes were biblical and historical• He used tempera as a medium often on

wood.• He is remembered for his use of

perspective, colour and pattern

Artists influenced by Uccello

• Mantegna (1431 – 1506)

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)

• Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

• Rapheal (1483 – 1520)

The Battle of San Romano

• This painting is one of three battle scenes.

• This scene depicts Niccolo da Tolentino leading Florentine troops onto battle.

• It hangs in the National Gallery London.

• It was part of a decorative mural for Lorenzo the magnificent (Medici family)

• The painting is an essay on perspective,

pattern, colour and mathematical order.

Rout of San Romano

Three Battle scenes• Left, Tolentino leading troops into battle –

London (NG)• Middle, Bernardino della Ciarda Thrown off his

horse – Florence (Uffizi)• Right, Micheletto da Cotignola engages in battle

- Paris (Louvre)

Vanishing point

• This painting is similar to a stage set. With decorative details working from left to right of the painting

• Everything is placed at convenient angles for Uccello to experiment with perspective, including the helmets on the ground, fallen knights, scattered lances etc. all receding towards the horizon line.

• His battles also show a strong interest in pattern and decoration.

• Uccello made little attempt to make his figures look real, they are flat and highly decorated. Unlike Giotto, little tone or shading is used.

• Dead men, broken lances and pieces of armour litter the ground to persuade us that what we know is a flat picture plane is really receding into space.

• Everything is curiously suspended in time and the solders, both dead and alive are like wooden lifeless statues. The horses seem to have more in common with rocking horses than real animals

The fallen soldier

This dramatically foreshortened figure displays Uccello’s full command of perspective, although the figure is not technically to scale. This figure show’s Uccello’s desire for realism.

• In the background isolated figures continue to fight, which provides an interesting backdrop to the main subject of the painting

• Niccolo Da Tolentino is shown in ceremonial dress rather than full battle armour. His large brightly coloured hat resembles a mosaic and is typical of Uccello’s love of pattern.

Portrait of Giotto by Uccello

Five masters