The panel known as the “Ideal City”, originating from the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Urbino, likely belonged to the ducal family. Elisabetta da Montefeltro, the daughter of Federico, might have brought the painting with her when she entered the monastery after being widowed in 1482. Around 1861, the work became part of the state collections of the Museum of the Institute of Fine Arts in Urbino, which later became the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in 1912.
The artwork has been attributed to various artists, including the architect Luciano Laurana, due to the high precision of the design and the similarity of classical architectural elements to those in the Ducal Palace of Urbino, of which the architect was partly the designer.
Currently, scholars attribute the panel to a generic painter from central Italy who presumably painted it between 1480 and 1490. Various hypotheses have been proposed regarding its possible use. It has been alternatively recognized as a perspective study, a wooden backrest for furniture, or a model for a stage design.
The painting represents the ideals of perfection and harmony of the Italian Renaissance in the orderly and symmetrical form of a city depicted with the scientific principles of central perspective, evident in the geometric design of the square’s pavement. In the foreground on the sides, two octagonal-based wells with steps are symmetrically placed. Dominating the scene is a large circular religious building, possibly a baptistery or a mausoleum.
The square is bordered by the facades of Renaissance noble palaces, mostly covered with polychrome marbles that emphasize the perspective view. In succession, you see shorter medieval-style buildings.
In the background on the right, set back, you can see the facade of a church, and in the distance, behind it, a hilly landscape. Rare elements of vegetation decorate balconies and windows, and on a cornice of the first building on the right, two doves are perched, the only visible creatures in the painting.
The absence of humans reigns unchallenged, giving the image a feeling of eternal silence.
Author: Anonimo Artista dell'Italia Centrale
Realization date: 1480-1490
Storage location: Urbino, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche
Dimensions: 67,7 x 239,4 cm
Technique: Oil on panel
Author: Anonimo Artista dell'Italia Centrale
Realization date: 1480-1490
Storage location: Urbino, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche
Dimensions: 67,7 x 239,4 cm
Technique: Oil on panel
The panel known as the “Ideal City”, originating from the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Urbino, likely belonged to the ducal family. Elisabetta da Montefeltro, the daughter of Federico, might have brought the painting with her when she entered the monastery after being widowed in 1482. Around 1861, the work became part of the state collections of the Museum of the Institute of Fine Arts in Urbino, which later became the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in 1912.
The artwork has been attributed to various artists, including the architect Luciano Laurana, due to the high precision of the design and the similarity of classical architectural elements to those in the Ducal Palace of Urbino, of which the architect was partly the designer.
Currently, scholars attribute the panel to a generic painter from central Italy who presumably painted it between 1480 and 1490. Various hypotheses have been proposed regarding its possible use. It has been alternatively recognized as a perspective study, a wooden backrest for furniture, or a model for a stage design.
The painting represents the ideals of perfection and harmony of the Italian Renaissance in the orderly and symmetrical form of a city depicted with the scientific principles of central perspective, evident in the geometric design of the square’s pavement. In the foreground on the sides, two octagonal-based wells with steps are symmetrically placed. Dominating the scene is a large circular religious building, possibly a baptistery or a mausoleum.
The square is bordered by the facades of Renaissance noble palaces, mostly covered with polychrome marbles that emphasize the perspective view. In succession, you see shorter medieval-style buildings.
In the background on the right, set back, you can see the facade of a church, and in the distance, behind it, a hilly landscape. Rare elements of vegetation decorate balconies and windows, and on a cornice of the first building on the right, two doves are perched, the only visible creatures in the painting.
The absence of humans reigns unchallenged, giving the image a feeling of eternal silence.
