Paolo di Dono, known as Uccello
1397-1475
The Battle of San Romano; The Counterattack of Michelotto da
Cotignola
c. 1455
Wood panel
H 1.82 m; W 3.17 mm
MI 469
The victory by the Florentines over the Venetians at San Romano, in 1432, is the theme of three panels painted by Uccello for the palace of Cosimo de Medici at Florence (other episodes are in the Uffizi and National Gallery, London). The rhythm of lances and legs conveys a sense of commotion in the army which is described in a compact mass, with the artist making great use of masterly foreshortening. This exercise in pure geometry is enlivened by lavish costumes, which indicate that while Uccello took the theoretical experiments of the Florentine Renaissance to an extreme, he did not entirely abandon the florid forms of the Gothic tradition.