Sansepolcro, Piero della Francesca, The Resurrection

The Resurrection is a painting by Piero della Francesca completed from 1463 to 1465, and is located in the Pinacoteca Comunale of Sansepolcro.
 

The scene is dominated by the figure of Jesus Christ, which divides the landscape in the background of the painting into two separate parts. The right side is alive and in bloom, and on the left side the trees and grass are dying.
 

These two symbols, life and death, recall the Good and Bad Government by Lorenzetti in Siena, an artwork that strongly influenced Tuscan painters in those years.
 

Piero himself sits at the feet of the sarcophagus, and the flagpole displaying the Guelph flag keeps him in direct contact with the divine, as if to inspire politicians of Sansepolcro’s town council. The fresco was located in the room next to his office in the communal building, so it is not unusual that he capitalized on this opportunity.
 

Piero represents the faith of the people in the goodness and benevolence of their government, who, inspired by Christ, proclaim and seek proper justice for the people of Borgo. After the completion of the fresco, the town was renamed to Borgo Santosepolcro, and years later, was changed into Sansepolcro.
 

Some years after The Baptism, Piero painted the fresco called The Resurrection in Borgo Sansepolcro. In the fresco, Christ is depicted with rough and essential traits, and is symbolically positioned in the exact center of the scene. On the left side of the painting, the winter landscape is characterized by the bare trees, and on the right side, trees are in full Summer bloom.

There is also the passage from night, characterized by the soldiers sleeping in front of the sarcophagus, to day, as the sun rises up into the sky above his shoulders. Christ symbolizes the passage from life to death.