BRERA, Piero Della Francesca - Montefeltro Altarpiece

In a deliberately sober room that doesn't lack solemnity either, you're standing before one of the Art Gallery's masterpieces: the work of the esteemed fifteenth-century artist Piero della Francesca. A "pala" is an alterpiece, and in fact this picture was originally placed over the altar of a church in Urbino. It's called the "Montefeltro Alterpiece" because it was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino.

The composition is organized with a stunning symmetry, and while you admire the painting it's worthwhile to point out that Piero della Francesca was also a distinguished mathematician. The Madonna is seated in the center, with the Child asleep on her lap. She is surrounded by six saints, and behind Mary stand two pairs of beautiful angels, recognizable by their wings. The Urbino Duke Federico da Montefeltro is kneeling at the right, dressed in battle armor with a wonderful metallic sheen. The Duke is in a traditional prayer position, and is portrayed in profile to disguise the fact that he lost an eye when he had been wounded by a spear at a tournament....