Day 172 - Gubbio studiolo



August 2, 2019

Gallery 501, the Gubbio studiolo, has long been one of my favorite spaces at the Met,  a place to which I always bring visitors. I never fail to marvel at how convincing the trompe l'oeil inlay is. You always think you could throw open the cabinet doors or, especially,  sit on the benches. 

The studiolo, which is about 15 feet long and maybe 8 feet wide, with a little recess, was built for Federico di Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, between 1478 and 1482. It's wild to think that such a luxurious room was installed at Gubbio, which wasn't even Federico's principal residence; in fact, there was a similar studiolo at Urbino. The objects represented in the cabinets give evidence of the duke's interests and accomplishments: a sword, a scepter, books, musical instruments (a drum, a flute, a lyre, a tambourine), an hourglass, a compass, an astrolabe, a cross.... It gives fresh meaning to the term "Renaissance man." It also makes you think of the anti-intellectualism of our current President, and despair.

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