The Urbino 'Ideal City' Painting: A Masterpiece by Pollaiolo and Fra Carnevale

The 'Ideal City' painting in Urbino is distinguished from its versions in Baltimore and Berlin by its superior design and execution, attributed to a collaboration between Antonio del Pollaiolo and Fra Carnevale. A 1599 ducal inventory cites Fra Carnevale as the painter, but X-ray analysis reveals a preparatory drawing by Pollaiolo, with the final painting deviating slightly—indicating two hands. Two doves on a palace cornice symbolize their partnership: one dove leans forward (Fra Carnevale) while the other stays back (Pollaiolo). The painting, intended for the Palazzo Ducale, features no human figures but plants symbolizing Federico da Montefeltro: boxwood (immortality), ivy (eternal fame), cornflower (virtue), and privet (strength). It embodies Neoplatonism and Leon Battista Alberti's architectural principles, with a central temple (possibly a mausoleum) drawing all lines into harmony, echoing the Corpus Hermeticum. The composition evokes Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. The Baltimore and Berlin versions lack Pollaiolo's guiding hand, showing chaotic structures and poor perspective. Dating evidence from the double portrait of Federico and Guidobaldo (c. 1477) places the Urbino 'Ideal City' around 1475, earlier than the 1480–1490 range some critics suggest.