2010

FLAGELLATION (remote) AFTER PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA


2010
Painting by Valery Koroshilov
Oil on linen, 160 x 190 cm


This is a tribute to Piero della Francesca, whose relatively small panel Flagellation (previous image) has always fascinated me. Following Piero’s compositional structure, I altered the accents in an attempt to bring it closer to the modern context.

The three Piero’s perfectly still figures, whose mysterious identity has not been resolved since Renaissance, are replaced by those of my patrons. In reality, they have never met, live in different countries, and over the years all acquired a number of my paintings and became my good friends. Their encounter is imaginary, – I portrayed them as if they respond to me in a discussion concerning the tribute.

Piero’s observer witnessing the Christ being flagellated is presented here by the female figure looking at the screens with the images of a remote war.

The three female faces on the right indicate modern visual environment (omnipresent billboards, TV screens, digital media) capable of instantly turning local into global. Of course, they also contribute to the spectrum of expressions of the human emotion in the context of awareness of the human suffering and injustice.

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