Appunti da un viaggio a Urbino: la pala di Montefiorentino

The polyptych of Montefiorentino is the first work by Alvise Vivarini, painted in 1476 and probably intended for the memorial chapel of the noble Oliva family; for a long time it was keept in the sacresty of the monastery’s church, into XX century when it is transferred to the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino. Many studies have emphasized the painter’s novelty, when compared to his family’s artistic tradition. As it has been pointed out, the figure of saint Francis on the far left was not attributed to Alvise himself, but first to his father Antonio (Zampetti 1950) and later to his father’s assistant (Steer 1982), who was only employed in the execution, and not in the creating of the drawing. However, it seems difficult to believe that an assistant participated in the work, signed by LVDOVICUS VIVARINVS, because of the weak pictorial quality, which allows us to question whether it was a modern copy or repainting