irenee scalbert

I first saw the Cappella del Perdono in the Palace of Urbino in the 1980s, a space that seemed to condense the spirit of the Renaissance in a single image. Much later in 2014, I joined the wonderful Bramante Tour organized by Pier Paolo Tamburelli. I guided him, Kersten Geers and Bas Princen to the chapel which had been omitted from the programme. The four of us crowded in the narrow space that had been made for one, the admirable Duke of Montefeltro, until Princen, his tripod and his camera crowded us out. Having left his wide lens behind, Princen took the superb close-ups of marble panels later reproduced in San Rocco 11, “Happy Birthday, Bramante!” It was a great moment. (1) shows Leonardo’s sketches of the chapel. He and Bramante were friends.