FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Enigma of Piero is a book about painting written by a historian. Carlo Ginzburg painstakingly sifts the evidence to produce a fascinating portrait of Piero's patrons and convincing explanations for the contemporary intrigues resonant in his paintings - in particular The Baptism, The Arezzo Cycle, and the mysterious Flagellation." "Apparently trivial details - a hat, a column, the turn of a hand - lead Ginzburg into the archives to discover remarkable new chains of evidence. Making Ginzburg's impressive argument even more compelling, this new edition includes additional material dealing with the work of Roberto Longhi, the dating of The Arezzo Cycle and the rediscovery of Piero della Francesca in the twentieth century.

FROM THE CRITICS

Village Voice

A cerebral detective story that uncovers the still pertinent bond between power and art.

London Review of Books

Includes much valuable research on the involvement of Piero's probable patrons in the great political, religious and cultural events of the time.

Hugh Trevor Roper