In the Footsteps of Piero della Francesca: The Milan sequel -- Madonna and Child with Saints, Angels and Federico da Montefeltro (1469 - 70)

"... the painting ... is sublime. Serene, sculptural, luminous, muted in color and masterly in its creation of an illusionistic space, the altarpiece crystallizes the extraordinary talents of its creator, Piero della Francesca." Thus does Judith Dobrzynski (Masterpiece: Underwriting and Outstanding Altar, The Wall Street Journal, 3/5/22) describe the work Madonna and Child with Saints, Angels and Federico da Montefeltro. The painting, housed in Milan's Pinocoteca di Brera, is also known by the names The Montefeltro Altarpiece, The San Bernardino Altarpiece, and The Brera Altarpiece. I had the honor of viewing it in situ on September 1 of this year. 

Piero della Francesca, Madonna and
Child with Saints, Angels and
Federico da Montefeltro, 1469 - 1470

The Patron

The painting was ordered by Federico da Montefeltro to honor either his late wife (died 1472) or their newly born son. Federico had also been considering his mortality and had chosen the church of San Bernardino as the site of his mausoleum. The painting was intended to be installed therein. 

Who was Federico? Also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG, he “was one of the most successful mercenary captains of the Italian Renaissance” and lord of Urbino from 1444 until his death in 1482. 

According to blog.der-leiermann.com:

Few names embody the paradox of the Italian Renaissance as fully as that of Federico da Montefeltro. He was a condottiere, a man of war who spent his life on the battlefield and whose power rested on military discipline. Yet at the same time he was one of the greatest patrons of his age, a humanist who supported philosophy and science, who gathered artists and architects around him and transformed Urbino into a radiant island of culture.

According to the Uffizi, Piero was a frequent guest at Federico's court, "finding himself in a cultured and refined atmosphere which would soon become one of the most important cultural and artistic hearts of Italy."

So Federico had the cultural pedigree and financial resources to solicit the creation of a masterpiece from the artist and Piero's appreciation for the court augured well for timely and successful completion of the effort.

The Painting

Style

All sources characterize this painting as a "sacred conversation" a genre which, according to Dobrzynski, originated in the first half of the 15th century and "replaced the traditional triptych and polypytch altarpieces." The sacred conversation pieces generally included Mary and Jesus flanked by saints and, in some cases, donors "in a single architectural space." The scene for these conversations were frequently the church apse.

Construct

The construct of the paintings and its interpretations are presented in the following annotated diagram. The annotations are drawn mostly from the Dobrzynski article.

Disposition

According to breraplus.org, the altarpiece came from the Church of San Bernardino in Urbino to Brera after the Napoleonic absolutions. Subsequent restorations and studies have revealed that the current instance of the painting has been reduced in size from its initial implementation

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In late-November 2025 I toured the cities wherein Piero della Francesca did most of his work and where many of his existing works are still displayed. I have previously written about the precipitating factors -- as regards the trip -- as well as  early experiences and will continue to flesh out the entirety of the trip over time. I have also previously described post-trip Piero experiences in Massachusetts and the foregoing falls into that latter category.