Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation, The Duke of Urbino, and the Fall of Constantinople

PAVM/FRIENDS OF THE UFFIZI SERIES
The Medici and the Della Rovere Families: Power, Patronage and Princely Collections

Kenneth Clark described Della Francesca’s painting as the “the greatest small painting in the world.” Much has been written about the enigmatic meaning of the work, including it serving as a metaphor for the fall of Constantinople, as well as an allegory of the assassination of the Oddantonio da Montefeltro, half-brother of the more celebrated Federico da Montefeltro. This lecture will examine the iconography of the famous painting and the role that the Duke of Urbino may have played in realization.