National Gallery to Host Major Piero della Francesca Exhibition in 2027

The National Gallery in London is preparing to open the largest ever exhibition devoted to the Italian Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca. Scheduled to run from 2 October 2027 to 30 January 2028, the exhibition will bring together a range of significant works from both international institutions and the gallery’s own collection.

One of the highlights will be The Urbino Diptych, featuring portraits of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, which will travel from the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence. This pair of portraits, created around 1472, is considered a major example of Piero’s portraiture and will be on display in London for the duration of the exhibition.

The exhibition will also include the entire Perugia Altarpiece (Pala di Perugia, 1468), on loan from the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia. This altarpiece is a key religious work by Piero and its presence in London will be a notable feature of the show.

Another important loan is the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Angels (circa 1460–70), which will come from the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. This painting is an example of Piero’s approach to religious subjects and his mastery of composition and colour.

Three works from the National Gallery’s own collection will serve as centrepieces for the exhibition: Baptism of Christ (probably about 1437–45), Saint Michael (1469), and The Nativity (early 1480s). These paintings represent different phases of Piero’s career and will be central to the exhibition’s narrative.

A digital version of The Legend of the True Cross, the fresco cycle from the Bacci Chapel of the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo, will also be featured. This digital display will allow visitors to experience one of Piero’s most celebrated works in a new format.

The exhibition will be co-curated by Laura Llewellyn, curator of Italian paintings before 1500 at the National Gallery, and Machtelt Brüggen Israëls of the Rijksmuseum and the University of Amsterdam. Sponsors for the exhibition include Intesa Sanpaolo bank and philanthropist John J. Studzinski. According to the gallery, the show will explore the pillars of Piero’s art, focusing on colour, design, space, perspective, narrative, and light.