The Duke and the painter

Piero della Francesca, Federico da Montefeltro

Federico da Montefeltro's portrait in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is part of the Urbino Diptych executed by Piero della Francesca between 1465 and 1472.

Federico ruled the small, hilly territory in the Marche region. He became duke in 1444, after the murder of his half-brother Oddantonio. He married Battista Sforza, the lady represented on the other side of the Diptych. Federico was a military commander and a man opened to the humanistic culture. In fact, the ducal palace of Urbino became the new architectural model and a cosmopolitan centre for the most recent redevelopments in the art. 

His face was disfigured after he suffered a wound that altered his appearance, therefore since then he was always depicted in strict profile, showing his good side.

The painter who executed the work was Piero della Francesca (1416/17-1492), the best known of the second generation of humanist painters. He provided a new approach to painting: a close link between art and geometry, as well as between poetical expression and mathematical rules. He worked across Italy, from Rome, to Rimini, to Ferrara, to then starting the execution of the Story of the True Cross in 1452 in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo. Later in the 1460's he started to work for the court of Duke Federico da Montefeltro, executing even this interesting artwork.

Piero became the new artist, the personality to have in the court. In fact, he produced so many masterpieces, so loved and appreciated by art lovers!