Diptych of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza

Piero della Francesca's double portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza (c. 1472–74) is one of the defining monuments of Italian Renaissance portraiture. The diptych was probably painted shortly after Battista's death in 1472 — she appears posthumously idealized, her complexion almost alabaster — making the work both a state portrait and a memorial. The reverse faces of the panels show the pair in triumphal processions with allegorical figures, a format derived from Roman commemorative medals. Federico, Duke of Urbino, was one of the period's greatest condottieri and humanist patrons; his distinctive profile — the broken nose and missing right eye from a jousting accident — is rendered without flattery, demonstrating Piero's commitment to truthful likeness over idealization.

Piero places both sitters in strict profile against an extensive aerial-perspective landscape, a compositional choice that creates the effect of ancient coin portraits while the landscape recession demonstrates his mastery of atmospheric perspective. His handling of Federico's armor and Battista's complex headdress and jewelry is extraordinarily precise, rendered with the geometric exactitude that characterizes all of his work.