Uccello The Battle of San Romano
Artist: Paolo Uccello (Italian b.1397 d. 1475)
Date: c. 1455
Dimensions: 6’ x 10’5”
Medium: Tempera and silver foil on wood panel
Current location: The National Gallery, London
Period: Italian renaissance (quattrocento)
Genre: history painting

Quick Notes:
  • This painting is one of three panels by Uccello depicting the battle that have been
    separated from one another and today reside in three different museums.
  • The painting depicts an historical battle between Florence and Sienna that took place in
    1432. It is an appropriately patriotic choice of subject for the Florentine artist.
  • Uccello was fascinated by the new technique of linear perspective. Notice how he carefully
    projects the figures and horses in space using one-point perspective. The fallen figures
    and debris on the ground almost fits along a grid that the artist would have used to
    construct the perspective of the piece.
  • Vasari criticized Uccello for paying too much attention to perspective and too little
    attention to things like the human body. This creates a fairy-tale feel to Uccello’s work.
    The horses look like they have been carved in wood for a carousel.

Suggested Compare-Contrast Target:
  • Diego Velazquez, The Surrender at Breda (The Lances)


Writing Prompts:
  • Why does the background of the painting seem unconnected to the foreground?
  • In what ways does Uccello's use of perspective strengthen the composition, and in what
    ways does it weaken it?


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