Piero della Francesca
It is one of Piero della Francesca’s most grandiose paintings. Residing in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, this huge altarpiece showing the Madonna and Child with Saints, was probably painted for the church of the Osservanti di San Donato in Urbino.The altarpiece was likely intended to take an important role in funeral affairs to honor the young wife of Federico da Montefeltro, Battista Sforza. Poor Battista died in childbirth and was portrayed by Piero della Francesca in the face of the Madonna.
But the altarpiece is mostly known for the pendent egg detail—not for the shell in the canopy of the half dome. This iconographic theme was common in fifteenth century Italian paintings—many italian Madonnas have been portrayed under a huge marine shell. This egg (an ostrich egg?) is unique and its use is mysterious.Some historians of art have stated that an egg constructs a three-dimensional architectural space and it's strictly a decoration. Others claim that the egg symbolises the caducity of life, suspended by the thin thread of imminent destiny (it's about the sudden death of the young duchess). Others have designated a sense of cosmic egg, or seed of life. In this interpretation, the huge shell is symbol of “New Venus”.
The thesis is contradicted by other critics who, instead, simply have proposed the egg as a symbol of Mary’s virginity. And what do you think?
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