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Portrait of a gentlewoman called la Muta
Flagellation
Ideal city
Madonna of Senigallia
Crucifixion
Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and his son Guidobaldo
Madonna and Child, St. John the Baptist and St. Anna
Madonna of San Simone
Sant'Ambrogio
Bartolo from Sassoferrato
Miracle of the profaned Host
The miraculous catch
Resurrection
Alcove of the Duke
Refreshment
Federico's study
Device with winch
Five times
Madonna and Child Enthroned and Saints known as the Montefiorentino Polyptych
David contemplates Goliath's taken off head
St. Francis receives the stigmata
Portrait of a gentlewoman called la Muta
Flagellation
Ideal city
Madonna of Senigallia
Crucifixion
Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and his son Guidobaldo
Madonna and Child, St. John the Baptist and St. Anna
Madonna of San Simone
Sant'Ambrogio
Bartolo from Sassoferrato
Miracle of the profaned Host
The miraculous catch
Resurrection
Alcove of the Duke
Refreshment
Federico's study
Device with winch
Five times
Madonna and Child Enthroned and Saints known as the Montefiorentino Polyptych
David contemplates Goliath's taken off head
St. Francis receives the stigmata

Flagellation

Piero della Francesca

Displayed in:

National Gallery of the Marche – Ducal Palace of Urbino

National Gallery of the Marche – Ducal Palace of Urbino

Piazza Rinascimento 13, Urbino

Open, closing soon last entry 18:15

Verified profile

Piero della Francesca's Flagellation was kept in the Cathedral of Urbino, before arriving in the National Gallery of the Marche around 1915. It is considered one of the most mysterious works of all time and has not yet revealed its many secrets. In fact, its client, its original location, its function are not known and the understanding of its iconography is still doubtful. The only certainty is given by the inscription with the author's signature, placed on the left on the step of the base below the seat of Pilate, which reads as follows: “Opus Petri de Burgo S [an] c [t] i Sepulcri , That is: Work of Pietro da Borgo San Sepolcro ". The scene is built according to the principles theorized by Leon Battista Alberti and is set in an architecture that some scholars trace back to Urbino. In the precise perspective representation of space and in the light of the eternal midday typical of Piero della Francesca, the sculptural decorations that recall the classic ones present in the Doge's Palace are also highlighted. Of course, such an enigmatic work has generated many interpretations, two of which deserve to be told. The oldest and most traditional focuses on the three figures in the foreground on the right, who are recognized as three characters of the court of Urbino. In particular, the blond barefoot in the center is identified with Duke Oddantonio da Montefeltro, who died in the conspiracy of 1444 and from which the successful political rise of Federico, his half-brother, begins. According to this interpretation, the fate of Oddantonio is placed in relation to the martyrdom of Christ, present in the background under an elegant loggia. The other interpretation refers to the scene with the actual scourging and the character from behind with a turban to identify with a Turk, which could indicate the Church threatened in the east by Muslims. This fear was more than justified, given that in 1453 Constantinople was taken by the Turks with the consequent fall of the Eastern Roman Empire.
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Details

Title: Flagellation

Author: Piero della Francesca

Date: 1459-1460

Technique: tempera on wood

Displayed in: National Gallery of the Marche – Ducal Palace of Urbino

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