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. 1478–82

Culture:: Italian, Gubbio

Medium:: Walnut, beech, rosewood, oak and fruitwoods in walnut base

Dimensions:: H. 15 ft. 10 15/16 in. (485 cm), W. 16 ft. 11 15/16 in. (518 cm), D. 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.

#106. Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio

For Audio Guide tours and information, visit metmuseum.org/audioguide.

Inscription: Latin 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.
(“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.”)

Duke Federico da Montefeltro , Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio, Italy (ca. 1479–82) ; Prince Filippo Massimo Lancellotti , Frascati (from 1874) ; Lancelotti family , Frascati (until 1937; sold to Adolph Loewi, Venice) ; [ Adolph Loewi , Venice (1937–39; sold to MMA) ]

Essays
Collecting for the Kunstkammer
Domestic Art in Renaissance Italy
Renaissance Organs

Timelines
Florence and Central Italy, 1400-1600 A.D.