The Madonna del Parto is a fresco painting by the Italian Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, finished around 1460. It is housed in the Museo della Madonna del Parto Monterchi, Tuscany, Italy.
Piero della Francesca finished it in seven days of work, using first-rate colors, including a large extent of blu oltremare obtained by lapis lazuli imported from Afghanistan by the Republic of Venice.
The fresco was once located in Santa Maria di Momentana (once Santa Maria in Silvis), an old country church in the hilltown of Monterchi. The edifice was destroyed in 1785 by an earthquake and the work was detached and placed over the high altar of the new cemetery chapel and in 1992 it has been moved to Museo della Madonna del Parto in Monterchi. The work was attributed to Piero della Francesca only in 1889. Dating has been subjec of debate, ranging from 1450 to 1475. The 16th century artist and writer Giorgio Vasari wrote it was completed in 1459, when Piero della Francesca was in...
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