Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino, Piero della Francesca (c1472)

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Artist: Piero della Francesca (c1415/20-1492) is an artist of mathematics and spirituality, author of texts on perspective and painter of ethereal religious scenes such as his Baptism of Christ and Nativity , both in the National Gallery. He was from Borgo San Sepolcro in Tuscany and although he worked for a time in Florence with Domenico Veneziano, he remained at a distance from the Florentine art milieu, creating a singular, inscrutable style. Piero's art hints at things it does not fully disclose. Figures stand apart from the action, silently looking at us in a way that seems meaningful but we can't say how, leading us again and again to lose ourselves in these fresh, clear pools of paintings.

Subject: Federico da Montefeltro (1420-1482) was a condottiere - a mercenary commander hired by Italian city-states - who converted his ill-gotten gains into a passion for culture. Employed by the Pope and the ruling Sforza family of Milan, Federico earned enough to transform the hill town of Urbino into a famous court. His Ducal Palace featured a studiolo decorated with perspective illusions in the wooden inlay technique called intarsia.

His second wife Battista Sforza, died in 1472; this double portrait may have been commissioned after her death as a memorial, though we can't know that. There is no record of it before the Papacy seized Urbino in 1631 and the diptych was spirited away to Florence.

Distinguishing features: The simplicity of this double image of wife and husband, duchess and duke, is deceptive: it's a rich, refined commentary on portraits that recedes and leaves you lost. Federico's profile is striking: that damaged nose, that wiry black hair. By comparison Battista is pallid, her features smoothed out, even lifeless. But this makes sense if this is a posthumous portrait - she faces her husband from the afterlife. This effect is heightened by the profile views. Federico liked to be painted from his left side because of the courtly jousting accident that wrecked his nose and destroyed his right eye.

Portraits in profile emulated ancient medals. Renaissance rulers liked to have their own medals struck, and this diptych recalls Pisanello's portrait medallions. However, Piero does something original, peculiar with this convention. He locks Federico into an eternal conversation with his dead wife, a cool yet poignant, unending partnership. Separated by mortality into two panels, they are at the same time unfinished without one another.

The unreality is heightened by the landscape, as dreamlike as a Leonardo painting. Compounding this, each panel has an allegory painted on the back, depicting the triumphal chariots of Federico and Battista. Federico sits with the cardinal virtues, Justice, Wisdom, Valour and Moderation, while Battista is enthroned amid figures of Faith, Hope and Charity.

Inspirations and influences: From nothing, Federico da Montefeltro created a court that later nurtured Raphael of Urbino (1483-1520), painter to the popes.

Where is it? Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

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