| Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Francesco di Giorgio Martini |
| Year | c. 1478–82 |
| Medium | Walnut, beech, rosewood, oak and fruitwoods in walnut base |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has on display a complete studio from the Palazzo ducale di Gubbio. Consisting of period woodwork from late 15th century Italy, the studio was commissioned for Federico da Montefeltro.
As the Renaissance swept through Italy, the cultural movement caused the rebirth and development of numerous artistic styles. Among these concepts was the development of the studiolo, a secluded room intended to allow for quiet study and meditation. These rooms contained, either physically or in the form of artistic depictions, books, tomes, scientific instruments, and other symbols of knowledge, particularly if they were associated with Classical Greece or Rome. [1] Elaborately decorated with paintings and intricate woodwork, studioli became a sign of status and sophistication for the nobility, court officials, and artists of the Italian Renaissance. [2] The small rooms would later be known as a hallmark of the Quattrocento, the art movement encompassing the first 100 years of the Italian Renaissance. [3] [1]
The studiolo housed in the Met was commissioned by Duke Federico da Montefeltro, a major geopolitical force in North-Central Italy during his lifetime. In addition for being a capable military leader, Federico was noted for being a prolific patron of the arts; his activities, such as the employing of artists, architects, and writers resulted in him being given the moniker "the Light of Italy". Federico commissioned his first studiolo at his palace in Urbino, the House of Montefeltro's traditional seat of power; this feat was replicated when in 1478 he ordered the design and installation of a studiolo in an old palace he was rebuilding in Gubbio, which was under his control. The new room was designed by Sienese artist Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who also worked on a number of other projects for da Montefeltro, including the construction of the Palazzo ducale di Gubbio (where the studiolo was installed) itself. [4] Martini's design was executed (under his supervision) by two Tuscan brothers famed for their work with interior woodworking, Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano. The entire room was constructed in the da Maiano's workshop in Florence, after which it was transported to Gubbio for installation. [3] [5] [1]
The studiolo remained in the Palazzo at Gubbio until 1874, when it was disassembled and moved to a villa in Frascati. The room was then purchased by a German art dealer and moved to Venice. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the work in 1939 and had the studiolo shipped to New York City, where it was re-assembled between 1939 and 1941. [3] [1]
The studiolo consists of a number of wood panels fitted together. These panels are divided into twelve consecutive sections, surrounding the room on all sides. The artists' use of intarsia (inlaid wood) to render realistic, two-dimensional images of latticework cabinets, drawers, and siding is representative of the rediscovery of linear perspective in mid-15th century Italy. [5] The extensive use of intarsia is particularly noticeable in the room, as the inlaid wood forms the contrast used to create the illusion of depth. In addition, paint and more intarsia is used to depict objects that a leader of Renaissance period would be expected to have in their study. Objects depicted include measuring instruments, a tropical bird in a cage, armor, books, and musical instruments. [3] The studiolo's coffered wood ceiling is adorned with carved geometric designs. The room originally contained several paintings, but these were removed from the studiolo in the 17th century. Three windows provide lighting for the room. [2] [1]
A phrase, done in gold-on-blue frieze along the upper panels of the room, reads;
"You see the eternal nurselings of the venerable mother, men pre-eminent in learning and genius, How they fall with bared neck before …knee. Honored loyalty prevails over justice, and no one Repents having yielded to his foster mother." [3]
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect. It hosts the University of Urbino, founded in 1506, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino. Its best-known architectural piece is the Palazzo Ducale, rebuilt by Luciano Laurana.
Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG, was one of the most successful mercenary captains (condottieri) of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 until his death. A renowned intellectual humanist and civil leader in Urbino on top of his impeccable reputation for martial skill and honor, he commissioned the construction of a great library, perhaps the largest of Italy after the Vatican, with his own team of scribes in his scriptorium, and assembled around him a large humanistic court in the Ducal Palace, Urbino, designed by Luciano Laurana and Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
Luciano Laurana was an Italian architect and engineer from the historic Vrana settlement near the town of Zadar in Dalmatia, After education by his father Martin in Vrana settlement, he worked mostly in Italy during the late 15th century. He was principal designer of the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino and one of the main figures in 15th-century Italian architecture. He considerably influenced the development of Renaissance architecture. His projects were accompanied with notes in the Croatian glagolitic script, as witnessed by the famous Bernardo Baldi. He was a relative of the sculptor Francesco Laurana.
Gubbio is a town and comune in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines.
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.
Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood within the solid wood matrix of floors and walls or of tabletops and other furniture; by contrast marquetry assembles a pattern out of veneers glued upon the carcass. The word intarsia may derive from the Latin word interserere.
Fossombrone is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy.
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms: "one of the most interesting later Quattrocento architects". As a military engineer, he executed architectural designs and sculptural projects and built almost seventy fortifications for the Federico da Montefeltro, Count of Urbino, building city walls and early examples of star-shaped fortifications.
Cagli[ˈkaʎʎi] is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. It c. 30 kilometres south of Urbino. The Burano flows near the town.
The Ducal Palace is a Renaissance building in the Italian city of Urbino in the Marche. One of the most important monuments in Italy, it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
Benedetto da Maiano was an Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance.
The Palazzo Ducale di Mantova is a group of buildings in Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence in the capital of their Duchy. The buildings are connected by corridors and galleries and are enriched by inner courts and wide gardens. The complex includes some 500 rooms and occupies an area of c. 34,000 m², which make it the sixth largest palace in Europe after the palaces of the Vatican, the Louvre Palace, the Palace of Versailles, the Royal Palace of Caserta and the Castle of Fontainebleau. It has more than 500 rooms and contains 7 gardens and 8 courtyards. Although most famous for Mantegna's frescos in the Camera degli Sposi, they have many other very significant architectural and painted elements.
Giovanni Santi was an Italian painter, decorator, and the father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Piero della Francesca and was influenced by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. He was court painter to the Duke of Urbino and painted several altarpieces. He died in Urbino.
Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated.
Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. A great range of materials have been used both for the base or matrix and for the inlays inserted into it. Inlay is commonly used in the production of decorative furniture, where pieces of coloured wood, precious metals or even diamonds are inserted into the surface of the carcass using various matrices including clearcoats and varnishes. Lutherie inlays are frequently used as decoration and marking on musical instruments, particularly the smaller strings.
Lorenzo Leonbruno, also known as Lorenzo de Leombeni, was an Italian painter during the early Renaissance period. He was born in Mantua (Mantova), an Italian commune in Lombardy, Italy. Leonbruno is most well known for being commissioned by the court of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and his wife Isabella d'Este. The patronage continued with their eldest son Federico II Gonzaga, who was the fifth Marquis of Mantua. Leonbruno was the court painter for the Gonzaga family from 1506–24.
A cabinet was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his bedchamber, the equivalent of the Italian Renaissance studiolo. In the Late Medieval period, such newly perceived requirements for privacy had been served by the solar of the English gentry house, and a similar, less secular purpose had been served by a private oratory.
Olga Raggio was an art historian and curator who worked with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for over 60 years, and discovered the 'lost' bust of Cosimo I de' Medici by Bartolommeo Bandinelli.
The Studiolo of the Palazzo Belfiore was a former study, or room for intellectual pursuits, that was once found in a razed Renaissance palace in Ferrara, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. While the palace has disappeared, records do list the paintings, consisting of depictions of muses, that hung in the room. These secular works are now dispersed across museums, but their collective presences recall the renewed attention of Renaissance patrons to symbols from classic mythology.
The Studiolo of Isabella d'Este was a special private study in the Corte Vecchi apartments in the Ducal Palace in Mantua, designed by, and with a collection of art specially commissioned by Isabella d'Este. The Studiolo was moved between 1519 and 1522 to the castello di San Giorgio.
