studiolo

Unlike the Urbino studiolo, a between space par excellence, the Gubbio studiolo is a more private cul-de-sac, situated at one end of a long gallery (Room #1 in fig. 2.37) that may have been used as a library and audience chamber. 18 From this arrangement, it is likely that the studiolo served in both an official and leisurely capacity, as at Urbino.

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

Also, the intarsia of the Gubbio studiolo is fixed entirely.

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

Considered in this light, the composure of the Gubbio studiolo is slightly more organized than at Urbino: its contents appear more select and less casually "strewn" about.

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

Adjacent to the studiolo-within-a-studiolo is the third "curtained" alcove in the chamber, containing a positive organ made by Juhani Castellano, whose name is inscribed below its keys.

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

Each studiolo is fitted with ornamental details that suggest a prime site, or standpoint, from which the trompe l'oeil snaps into place and feels "right."

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

As a rebus for contemplation, then, the ideal city represented an image of concord drawn through the macro - and micro-architecture of the cosmos, aligning the music of the spheres with the city, one's home, private study, and the ark of memory preserved in the heart of the mind. 303 Amid this sequence of nested vessels, an occupant of the Urbino studiolo is simultaneously contained within and a container of divine wisdom, embodying the erotic tension of created and creator described by Plato in Timaeus. 304

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

2The lower portion of each studiolo is paneled with illusionistic intarsia, ostensibly elaborating on Alberti's advice concerning the insulation of stone walls: "If you panel your walls with timber, and especially fir or even poplar, it will make the place healthier, warm enough in winter, and not too hot in summer."

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

6In addition to its terra-cotta tiled floor and gilt ceiling, the studiolo is composed of two distinct zones: the polychromatic portraits of twenty-eight uomini illustri and the honey-toned intarsia paneling below.

Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008

I'm referring to the studiolo, or cabinet of contemplation, designed in 1476 for Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino.

Sanctity in Perspective David Netto 2012

I immediately thought "studiolo," like the Gubbio room at the Met.

Apartment Therapy Main 2010