The Duke and Duchess of Urbino

The portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesco are a diptych i.e.: a painting of two panels connected by a hinge. It can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence where it is displayed in a glass cabinet so that you can see the paintings on the reverse. Federigo da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza face each other, a motif borrowed from Roman coinage, which was popular at the time. It is thought that these portraits were commissioned following the death of the duchess Battista.
Federigo came to prominence as a leader of mercenaries and through his ill-gotten gains and riches made Urbino a city of wealth and importance. It was there that Piero della Francesca painted the diptych, possibly as a memorial to the duchess.

       The compositional layout was possibly designed to disguise the duke’s facial disfigurement as he had lost an eye and suffered severe damage to his nose during a tournament. His tanned, wart covered face is contrasted with the pale, smooth, deathlike complexion of his wife. She shows a strange high forehead which was the fashion of the time. The details of her jewels, headdress and sleeve show the mastery of Piero’s ability to paint various textures in an authentic manner. The landscape appears to be of another world, almost dreamlike and has qualities seen in the painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci which was painted about thirty years later.

          The closed panels reveal paintings showing the duke and duchess in carriages, his drawn by horses and hers by unicorns symbolising her purity. He is wearing the armour of a victorious leader and is crowned in victory with Justice, Wisdom, Valour personified by his side, while Battista is surrounded by the figures of Faith, Hope and Charity. Regardless of the sentiments that the duke wanted to have portrayed to show his strength and power, he is left in an eternal limbo facing his dead wife in an unspoken conversation