Modellando Piero. Indagini ricostruttive sulla Madonna del Parto / Modeling Piero. Reconstructive inquiries on the Madonna del Parto

The virtual reconstruction of the perspective environment of a painting resembles the construction of a theory. It requires a number of operations that are possible only by assuming a series of hypotheses that are based on an interrelated study of the work itself and its theoretical and technical presuppositions; of the artist and his or her theoretical and practical knowledge; of his or her era and of the artists and works he or she could know; and the place (as well as the client) for which the work was conceived, especially if it is a fresco for the high altar of a church. This is the case of the Piero della Francesca’s Madonna del Parto, of which only the central fragment remains. The work and its perspective space have been analysed here not only to evaluate their coherence with an actual architectural design of the painted space but also to reconstruct the missing parts of the fresco. This was done trying to scientifically take into account all the operations performed. The reconstruction was deliberately conducted up to improbable conclusive outcomes precisely to reflect on the process rather than on the product, and on the implicit risks associated with communication in the absence of appropriate criteria capable of expressing the process itself in a transparent way.