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1932 Innsbruck/Tyrol – 2011 Vienna
- Title
- „Battaglia di San Romano – London grey“
- Time
- 2010
- signed
- verso titled and dated
- Technique
- acrylic on canvas
- Measurements
- 39,37 × 55,12 in
Markus Prachensky’s series “La Battaglia di San Romano,” created in 2010, is a homage to the triptych of the same name by the Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello. In the 1440s, Uccello depicted the Battle of San Romano (1432) across three panel paintings. Today, the individual parts of the triptych are divided between the Louvre, the Uffizi Galleries, and the National Gallery.
Prachensky first encountered the painting at the Uffizi at the age of 20 and was struck by the precision of the technique and the intensity of the colors. Soon afterward, he was able to admire the second panel at the Louvre. Fifteen years later, he stood before the final part of the triptych in London; however, it was not until 60 years after his first encounter with the initial panel that Prachensky resolved, in 2010, to create the „La Battaglia di San Romano“ cycle.
The present painting, „La Battaglia di San Romano – London Grey“, is inspired by Uccello’s panel now housed in the National Gallery in London. It depicts Niccolò da Tolentino as the leader of the Florentine forces. The gray ground refers to the timing of the battle in the morning. This is the considerably rarer variation of the London theme, which otherwise usually features a red background („London Red“). The numerous lances that structure the composition of the Renaissance painting in a geometric, almost grid-like manner particularly fascinated Prachensky and became the central motif. With swift, vigorous brushstrokes, Prachensky reduced Uccello’s richly detailed composition to its essentials—its very essence—and translated it into his own unique visual language through gestural, emotionally charged marks.