Federico da Montefeltro's Library
Manuscripts and Painting at New York's Morgan Library: A Review
"Federico da Montefeltro and His Library" at New York's Morgan Library & Museum describes the life of the 15th-century Italian ruler and art produced during his reign.
New York is fortunate to host Federico da Montefeltro and His Library (June 8-September 30, 2007) at the Morgan Library & Museum. This small-scale display of spectacular illuminated manuscripts and other works of art describes a cultural high point in Italy's 15th-century history. The show's final stop will be Urbino, Italy's Palazzo Ducale (October 27, 2007-January 6, 2008). A different set of manuscripts will be on view at that location.
In an age when calculated subterfuge figured largely in Italian peninsular politics, the shrewd Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482), a condottiere or hired mercenary, was not immune to the vagaries of his day. He waged war for the highest bidder, including Pope Paul II (r. 1464-1471), and thought little of changing allegiances when a strategic shift in loyalty suited his territorial needs. Documentary evidence in this exhibition now irrefutably proves that the duke, in collusion with the embittered Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471-1484), helped to plan the diabolical Pazzi Conspiracy to assassinate rival Florence's Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother, Giuliano, during morning High Mass in the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore on April 26, 1478. Giuliano was mortally wounded while Lorenzo survived the attack.
Meanwhile, Federico skillfully cultivated his public image as a beneficent ruler and refined patron of the arts. To this end, the duke was aided by the somewhat gossipy Vespasiano da Bisticci (1421-1498), a Florentine humanist, librarian and book merchant whose Lives of Illustrious Men, first published in 1839, extolled Federico's virtues. The Morgan Library's stellar exhibition is a focused study of Italian Renaissance art and courtly culture from the duchy (territory) of Urbino during the 15th Century. In light of recent research, this show is a scholarly examination of how one aristocratic family's patriarch lived, learned and legislated in Quattrocento Italy. Art, intrique and the unsolved riddle of a famous painting's authorship coalesce to form a fascinating presentation. What more could one ask for?
Federico da Montefeltro possessed one of Renaissance Europe's greatest libraries. Its manuscripts, numbering more than a thousand, encompass studies in history, geography, astrology, poetry and theology; many of the titles are Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic works. Realistic renderings of the duke's volumes, pieces of armor, musical instruments and scientific ephemera are represented on the shelves of his trompe l'oeil (illusionistic) intarsia (wooden inlay) panels from his two studioli (rooms designed for the duke's contemplation as well as the reception of guests) in his residences at Urbino and Gubbio. (Federico's actual Gubbio studiolo is installed on the first floor of the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art.)
The artworks in the Morgan Library's presentation are arranged around Federico's brass eagle-headed Lectern (probably 1470s), an object recently restored for this show. Directly behind it is the famous Double Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and His Son Guidobaldo (ca. 1475). Scholars still debate if this masterpiece of portraiture was painted by Justus of Ghent (fl. ca. 1460-ca.1480) or Pedro Berruguete (ca. 1450-1504?), both active in Urbino in the 1470s. Regardless of its authorship, this fine oil on panel painting clearly represents the armored Federico da Montefeltro, decorated with England's Order of the Garter on his left leg and the Neapolitan Order of the Ermine around his neck. As Federico seriously studies a text, the child Guidobaldo holds a scepter in his right hand, a visual reference to the young heir's right of succession.
Federico da Montefeltro was both an accomplished warrior and man of letters. Having utilized his vast resources from mostly successful military campaigns, the illustrious duke was able to obtain the status of distinguished art patron by employing some of the most impressive artists of his time.
Sources:
- Cole, Alison. Virtue and Magnificence: Art of the Italian Renaissance Courts. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1995, 66-91.
- Levenson, Jay A. (ed.), et al. Circa 1492: Age in the Age of Exploration (exh. cat.). New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992, 247-248.
- Raggio, Olga and Antoine M. Wildering. The Liberal Arts Studiolo from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996.
- Simonetta, Marcello (ed.). Federico da Montefeltro and His Library (exh. cat.). Milan: Y.Press and Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 2007.
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