Architectural Veduta

Comparably exceptional depictions of space are to be found only in two other collections: in Baltimore and Urbino. The unique quality of these three pieces within early Renaissance painting is constantly emphasized. They are seen as illustrations of constructions with a central perspective, of concrete town planning or also ideal variants on urban spatial organization formulated in a spirit of Humanism. In the case of the Berlin panel reference is also made to a concurrent description of piers and docks in Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s ‘Trattato di Architettura’. This piece was probably created in the cultural atmosphere of Urbino, where in the mature Quattrocento mathematics, painting, architecture and interior design were closely linked under Federico da Montefeltre. There are parallels with perspectives of this kind in intarsia work.