The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings

ASPICIS ETERNOS VENERANDE MATRIS ALVMNOS

DOCTRINA EXCELSOS INGENIOQVE VIROS

VT NVDA CERVICE CADANT [ORA PARENTIS

SVPPLIC]ITER FLEXOPROCVBVERE GENV

IVSTITIA PIETAS VINCIT REVERENDA NEC VLLVM

POENITET ALTRICI SVCCVBVISSE SVE.

(Menichetti 1987; Raggio 1992)

See how the eternal students of the venerable mother,

Men exalted in learning and in genius,

Fall forward, suppliantly with bared neck and flexed knee,

Before the face of their parent.

Their rev erend piety prevails over justice and none

Repents for having yielded to his foster mother.^5

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (b. 1472), Federico’s only son and sec-

ond duke of Urbino, died in 1508 without an heir. From 1508 to 1631 the

duchybelonged to the House of the della Rovere; when that line ended the

duchy fell into the hands of the Papal States. At that time, around 1631,

many of the artworks—including paintings, the books from Federico’s

famous library, and other portable objects—were removed from the ducal

A R S   D P  G 481

Figure 2
Detail of the central wall panel of the Gubbio
studiolo during conservation treatment. The
panel is constructed with various irregularly
shaped matrix sections. Each door, for
example, is one matrix section. The genius
of the intarsiatori can be seen in the sophisti-
cated play between light and shadow, as well
as in the intricate details of the writing uten-
sils pouch and the Order of the Garter.