title: The Monocular Duke of Urbino.
abstract: Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482), the Duke of Urbino, was a well-known historical figure during the Italian Renaissance. He is the subject of a famous painting by Piero della Francesca (1416-1492), which displays the Duke from the left and highlights his oddly shaped nose. The Duke is known to have lost his right eye due to an injury sustained during a jousting tournament, which is why the painting portrays him from the left. Some historians teach that the Duke subsequently underwent nasal surgery to remove tissue from the bridge of his nose in order to expand his visual field in an attempt to compensate for the lost eye. In theory, removal of a piece of the nose may have expanded the nasal visual field, especially the "eye motion visual field" that encompasses eye movements. In addition, removing part of the nose may have reduced some of the effects of ocular parallax. Finally, shifting of the visual egocenter may have occurred, although this seems likely unrelated to the proposed nasal surgery. Whether or not the Duke actually underwent the surgery cannot be proven, but it seems unlikely that this would have substantially improved his visual function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Leffler
authors.affiliation: Retired Neuro-ophthalmologist, Richmond, VA, USA.; Non-degree Student, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Chavis
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Faraaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Harry W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Flynn
keywords: Duke of Urbino; Federico da Montefeltro; ocular parallax; visual egocenter; visual field