Flagellation and Baxandall

Arman Javaheri
 Piero Della Franchesca's Flagellation, 1449

As a 15th century Florentine painter, you didn't just paint, you practically did it all. Going through intensive schooling, painters such as Piero Della Francesca, had a pretty firm grip on mathematics, as the subject was stressed for years, The use of mathematics and geometry in painting at the time became a show of skill and intelligence, and allowed artists to boast of their structural proportions. As the population became more educated in math, the artwork had to follow. Francesca became aware of this and upped his geometric game to the point that almost every aspect of his paintings held some geometric significance. This became Francesca's challenge to the public as he invited viewers to test his accuracy.

Francesca's Flagellation makes no exception as it depicts accurate and attractive architecture. Although Francesca may to have gotten the order of importance wrong as it seems to be the three men in front first, then the pillars and architectural structures and,oh yeah, Jesus is being whipped in the back somewhere. Regardless of this, nicely done on those pillars, because after all that's what counts, right?
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Flagellation

Flagellation
Piero Della Francesca, Flagellation, 1448

Piero Della Francesca never got the credit he deserved. Much of his work was either destroyed or lost. After his death, many of his papers were stolen and published under the name of his student, Fra Luca dal Borgo. Yet, through the work that survives, it is clear he was a genius. Flagellation, painted in 1448, incorporated Piero's mathematical expertise in his use of perspective. His use of vanishing points to show distance was a totally new, innovative concept. While other artists were painting flat, stage-like artwork, Piero managed to add perspective and detail while still maintaining a calm monumental style,

This version of Flagellation is unique, mainly due to the position of Jesus. While he is front and center in the other versions, Piero paints him into the background. The subject of the painting seems to be the three men in the front, not Jesus. Art historians differ on their interpretations of this. Some say the front three are the duke or Urbino and his assassins, while others claim that it's the Byzantines and the Ottoman Turks. I personally think its meaning is religious, but it widens the focus of the painting to include the bystanders who sat passive while Christ suffered. If it looks like Jesus, it's probably Jesus.

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