Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio
•Designer: Designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, Siena 1439-1501 Siena)
•Maker: Executed under the supervision of Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, Siena 1439-1501 Siena)
•Maker: Executed in the workshop of Giuliano da Maiano (Italian, Maiano 1432-1490 Naples)
•Maker: and Benedetto da Maiano (Italian, Maiano 1442-1497 Florence)
•Date: ca. 1478-1782
•Culture: Italian, Gubbio
•Medium: Walnut, beech, rosewood, oak and fruitwoods in walnut base
•Dimensions:
oHeight: 15 ft. 10 15/16 in. (485 cm)
oWidth: 16 ft. 11 15/16 in. (518 cm)
oDepth: 12 ft. 7 3/16 in. (384 cm)
•Classification: Woodwork
•Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1939
•Accession Number: 39.153
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 501.
This detail is from a study, (or studiolo), intended for meditation and study. Its walls are carried out in a wood-inlay technique known as intarsia. The latticework doors of the cabinets, shown open or partly closed, indicate the contemporary interest in linear perspective. The cabinets display objects reflecting Duke Federico’s wide-ranging artistic and scientific interests, and the depictions of books recall his extensive library. Emblems of the Montefeltro are also represented. This room may have been designed by Francesco di Giorgio (1439-1502) and was executed by Giuliano da Majano (1432-1490). A similar room, in situ, was made for the duke’s palace at Urbino.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
•Inscription:
oLatin inscription in elegiac couplets in frieze: ASPICIS AETERNOS VENERANDAE MATRIS ALUMNOS // DOCTRINA EXCELSOS INGENIOQUE VIROS // UT NUDA CERVICE CADANT ANTE //.. // .. GENU // IUSTITIAM PIETAS VINCIT REVERENDA NEC ULLUM // POENITET ALTRICI SUCCUBUISSE SUAE.
oTranslation: (“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.”)
Provenance
Duke Federico da Montefeltr, Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio, Italy (ca. 1479-1482); Prince Filippo Massimo Lancellotti, Frascati (from 1874); Lancelotti family, Frascati (until 1937; sold to Adolph Loewi, Venice); [Adolph Loewi, Venice (1937-1939; sold to MMA)]
Timeline of Art History
•Essays
oCollecting for the Kunstkammer
oDomestic Art in Renaissance Italy
oRenaissance Organs
•Timelines
oFlorence and Central Italy, 1400-1600 A.D.
MetPublications
oVermeer and the Delft School
oPeriod Rooms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oPainting Words, Sculpting Language: Creative Writing Activities at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oOne Met. Many Worlds.
oMusical Instruments: Highlights of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 4, The Renaissance in Italy and Spain
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
oThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
oMasterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oMasterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
o“The Liberal Arts Studiolo from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio”: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 53, no. 4 (Spring, 1996)
oGuide to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oThe Gubbio Studiolo and Its Conservation. Vol. 2, Italian Renaissance Intarsia and the Conservation of the Gubbio Studiolo
oThe Gubbio Studiolo and Its Conservation. Vol. 1, Federico da Montefeltro’s Palace at Gubbio and Its Studiolo
o“Carpaccio’s Young Knight in a Landscape: Christian Champion and Guardian of Liberty”: Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 18 (1983)
oThe Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look At Art
oThe Artist Project
oThe Art of Renaissance Europe: A Resource for Educators
oThe Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
oArt and Love in Renaissance Italy
