‘The Battle of San Romano’ Series: Paolo Uccello’s Masterpiece

The three panels of "The Battle of San Romano," circa 1435–1460, by Paolo Uccello. Panels L-R are housed, respectively, at National Gallery, London, Uffizi Gallery, and the Louvre Museum. Public Domain

At the crossroads of the shift from the medieval International Gothic style to the Early Italian Renaissance period was the artist Paolo Uccello (circa 1397–1475). According to Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari, Uccello was obsessed with perspective, which was a fairly recent discovery in his era. This key technique of the Renaissance uses lines to create the illusion of three-dimensional objects or spaces in a two dimensional medium. While Uccello’s work showcases his exploration of this practice, his art maintains a decorative courtly elegance, a hallmark of International Gothic.

Today, Uccello is best-known for his series of paintings depicting the 1432 Battle of San Romano. This conflict over the port of Pisa, Italy was fought between Florence, who won, and the allied Lucca, Milan, and Siena. Uccello created three large, complex paintings that are now housed respectively in three different museums: the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi in Florence, and the Louvre in Paris. Though the colors and details of each have degraded over the centuries, they remain dynamic, fascinating works of art.

The Italian ‘Bird’

A detail of Paolo Uccello from "Five Famous Men," 1500–1550, by unknown artist. Tempera on panel; 8 1/3 inches by 25 2/3 inches. Louvre Museum, Paris. (Louvre Museum/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The artist was born Paolo di Dono, but is known by Uccello, Italian for “bird.” Vasari writes that this nickname was derived from his love of the creature. Uccello was an extremely versatile artist. He created paintings in tempera on wood, extensive church fresco cycles, small devotional works, and also designed mosaics and stained glass.

Several of his artworks, in addition to being held in some of the world’s greatest museums, are still in situ, including in the celebrated Florence Cathedral and the cloister of Santa Maria Novella. It was in Florence that Uccello trained in the workshop of the famous sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti and contributed to the majestic bronze doors Ghiberti made for the city’s baptistry. By 1415, Uccello was an independent artist, but little is known of his early career. He spent several years in Venice before returning to Florence, where he worked almost exclusively for the rest of his life.

The artist’s pivotal decade of pioneering experimentation with perspective and geometry was the 1430s. “The Battle of San Romano” pictures were formerly dated to around 1459, but scholars concluded this assessment was faulty and now assign a likely date from circa 1435–1440. The error was due to the belief that the works were painted for the Medici Palace. In fact, they were commissioned by the Florentine Leonardo Bartolini Salimbeni, who had participated in the battle just a few years earlier, for his palace. The artist’s intended display sequence of the three panels remains unclear, along with the order in which they were painted, although the Uffizi asserts that their panel is the central scene.

Tolentino and Carda

Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino leads the Florentine troops in the left panel from "The Battle of San Romano," circa 1438, by Paolo Uccello. Tempera on panel; 71 2/3 inches by 124 4/5 inches. The National Gallery, London. Public Domain

The National Gallery’s example is called “Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano.” The titular figure is the Florentine commander posed in a manner akin to an equestrian monument. He rides a white horse that stands out amid the canvas, darkened over time, and is conspicuous for his lavish velvet red and gold hat, a “mazzocchio,” that matches his cape. Notably, da Tolentino isn’t properly dressed for warfare; he wears a mail shirt but no breastplate, and a page carries his helmet. Holding a baton of command, he leads a cavalry charge, depicted in overlapping layers.

While the tangle of crests, lances, and horses make it difficult for the viewer to discern a clear narrative, Uccello does capture the whirl of battle. However, the scene isn’t depicted as a bloody conflict. It’s more of a formal parade with pageantry. The doll-like humans and horses give the picture a tapestry-like feel. Uccello’s later output would trend towards more surreal, fairytale-like compositions, visible in works such as the circa 1465–1470 “The Hunt in the Forest,” which has compositional similarities to “The Battle of San Romano” paintings.

"The Hunt in the Forest," 1470s, by Paolo Uccello. Tempera, oil and gold on panel. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK. Public Domain

In the National Gallery and Uffizi panels, Uccello pays special attention to the background’s landscape of hedge and fields along with fauna, revealing the artist’s deep interest in the natural world. The inclusion of flowers and oranges shows that the season is summer. Uffizi curator Daniela Parenti notes that the sour orange, or “mala medica,” was the emblem of the Medici family. She writes that the heirs of Bartolini Salimbeni sold all three paintings to Lorenzo the Magnificent, who had them moved to the Medici palace. The National Gallery differs with this account, describing the transaction as a forcible removal by the Medici ruler. 

Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino unseats Bernardino della Ciarda in the central panel of "The Battle of San Romano," 1436–1440, by Paolo Uccello. Tempera on panel; 74 inches by 128 3/4 inches. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Public Domain

The Uffizi painting, the only one that remains in Florence, is thought to depict the Sienese leader Bernardino della Carda in the process of being dismounted. The Florentine troops’ weapons are angled slightly forward while those of their rivals retreat somewhat.

Both the National Gallery and Uffizi panels epitomize Uccello’s skill in linear perspective, used to give equilibrium to the composition. The horses are masterfully foreshortened. The National Gallery elaborates further: “The broken lances in the foreground are arranged in a grid-like pattern, but the receding lines are blocked by the hedge rather than vanishing at a single point in the distance. The armour scattered on the ground is shown at various angles.” 

At the Louvre

"The Decisive Attack of Micheletto Attendolo at San Romano" from the right panel of "The Battle of San Romano," 1438, by Paolo Uccello. Tempera on panel; 70 4/5 inches by 124 2/5 inches. Louvre Museum, Paris. Public Domain

The Louvre’s panel, which is now in a ghost-like condition, shows the counterattack by the Florentine alley Michelotto da Cotignola. All of “The Battle of San Romano” works were created with brilliant pigments and sparkling gold and silver leaf. The visible damage is the result of poorly executed cleanings and inherent changes in the materials.

The armor was originally resplendent with large quantities of metal leaf but has since tarnished. The banners and harnesses were painted with vermilion but are now blue-grey. Modeling details and flesh tones are also lost. To envision the artist’s intention, look to Uccello’s “Saint George and the Dragon” from about 1470, also in the National Gallery’s collection.

"Saint George and the Dragon," circa 1470, by Paolo Uccello. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London. Public Domain

“The Battle of San Romano” paintings were conceived to be placed high up on the walls of a room under a vaulted ceiling. To ensure that they would fit around the corbels, the original panels had irregularly shaped corners and arched tops. Upon their removal from the Bartolini Salimbeni home, they were reshaped into rectangles to fit the architecture of their new location. This accounts for the current tightly cropped compositions.

The quattrocento artist Uccello was an important figure in the development of Florentine Renaissance painting. In his lengthy and prestigious career, his uniquely arresting “The Battle of San Romano” became a masterpiece of perspective.

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