"La Berretta Ducale con Due Orecchie Grandi". A Note on an Iconographic Detail in the Double Portrait of Duke Federico da Montefeltro and His Son Guidobaldo

Angelina R. Milosavljević
2021 Zbornik Matice srpske za likovne umetnosti  
The double portrait of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and his son Guidobaldo, by Justus van Ghent and Pedro Berruguete, 1476-1480, represents a state, multi-generational, portrait by which not only Federico's status as the military commander who won the highest chivalric honours of his day and the title of the Duke is represented, but also the legal passing of the hereditary right on his only legitimate male ofspring, Guidobaldo. Its iconography has been the subject of research, and
more » ... holars have been in agreement regarding the most of the symbols of power represented in this painting. One iconographic detail -a hat resting on the lectern, and above Guidobaldo's head, has often been omitted from the interpretations of the painting, or has been erroneously identified as a gift by the Shah of Persia, whose ambassador visited Urbino in 1472. We suggest that this was the ducal bereta described in the report of the ceremony of Federico's investiture as Duke in 1474, by Bernardino Baldi who worked in the archives of Urbino when writing the biography of Federico da Montefeltro. In the description, Baldi noted that Federico was given a ducal bereta with ear flaps and pendants on both sides. Although Baldi did not provide a detailed description of the bereta, it corresponds to the painted one in the double portrait, and further underscores the self-promotional and state character of the image. KEYWORDS: Federico da Montefeltro, double portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and his son Guidobaldo, iconography, regalia, ducal berretta.
doi:10.18485/ms_zmslu.2021.49.3 fatcat:by3ovubwkraablhrahnpxmcmmu