For the first time since the 17th century, the portraits of famous men commissioned by Duke Federico da Montrefeltro are once again together in his palace studiolo – a small, luxurious room that was used as a showpiece to celebrate Federico’s humanist interests and intelligence as well as a private space for contemplation and (possibly) study. Though the splendid intarsia remains in its original location as the room’s wainscoting, the colorful portraits that once filled the upper portions of the room’s four walls were removed in 1632 and cut down into twenty-eight separate pictures, now divided between the Louvre in Paris and the ducal palace at Urbino. Through 4 July 2015 visitors can experience the studiolo almost as Federico first did when it was dedicated in 1476. Reservations are required to visit the reconstituted studiolo and accompanying exhibition Lo Studiolo del Duca – Il ritorno degli Uomini Illustri alla Corte di Urbino.
Palazzo Ducale Urbino
Piazza Duca Federico 107, 61029 URBINO
12 March through 4 July 2015
Reassembled portraits, studiolo, Palazzo Ducale, Urbino
Palazzo Ducale, Urbino
Exhibition poster
Joos van Ghent and Pedro Berruguete, Portrait of St. Thomas Aquinas, ca. 1476, Paris, Louvre
Benedetto da Maiano, intarsia, studiolo, Palazzo Ducale, Urbino