PICTURES FROM ITALY (Est. 2001)
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art
Private Walking Tours of Rome, Florence & Venice

The Man Who Saved the 'Greatest Painting in the World'

6/7/2019

 
The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca, Sansepolcro
The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca

Nowadays, the small Tuscan town of Sansepolcro is an integral part of the Piero della Francesca trail, but this might not have been the case, had it not been for the actions of one man.

During the second world war Tony Clarke was an artillery officer with the British army. In 1944 he was stationed in Italy, where his unit was encamped in the hills above Sansepolcro. As the unit was preparing to bomb the town prior to sending in ground troops, Clarke found himself thinking about an essay he had read by Aldous Huxley. The subject was Piero della Francesca's painting of the Resurrection. In the essay Huxley had written, "It stands there before us in entire and actual splendour, the greatest picture in the world."

Clarke then remembered where the painting was located. It was in Sansepolcro, Piero della Francesca's birthplace!

When his commanding officer gave the orders to fire, Clarke played for time, claiming that he couldn't see any German targets to bomb. The guns stayed silent and the following day Sansepolcro was liberated. The town and the painting had been saved. Tony Clarke was hailed as a local hero and a street (Via A. Clarke) was later named in his honour.

Piero della Francesca painted the fresco of the Resurrection (c. 1463-65) for the Palazzo della Residenza, which now houses the town's art museum.

Comments are closed.

    Blogging about Tuscany


    ​My name is David Lown and I am an art historian 
    from Cambridge, England.

    Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run
    ​ private tours of Florence, Rome &
    Venice.


    Search Pictures From Italy:

    Blog Posts

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019


Follow Pictures From Italy on Facebook

Private Tours of Rome, Florence & Venice

Copyright © David Lown 2001-2019. All Rights Reserved. 
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art