Here is a Guide to Federico's
Creative Process

"When I saw this painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, it reminded me of Tony and Carmela," Castelluccio says.  "They're looking at each other, but they're separated."  The portrait, of Battista Sforza, Duchess of Urbino, and Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, is by 15th-century artist Piero della Francesca.

Castelluccio worked from a reproduction of the dell Francesca portraits.  He placed two poplar panels on his easel and started his portraits of Tony and Carmela with an intricate pencil drawing.  "I did an initial sketch, then I snapped photos of Edie [Falco] and Jim [Gandolfini] in profile," Castelluccio says.  "She thought it was a clever idea.  So did Jim.

"Next, I brushed a brown tint over both drawings, which gives you an even undertone.  I never work on white, because it's too stark.  Then I work from dark to light.  It's a technique that was used in the Renaissance."

Although della Francesca used tempera paint, Castelluccio chose oils.  "I put in the background first and go to larger areas, like the clothes.  Then I add a glaze.  The glaze makes the paint translucent, so you can add shadows to a face."

The portraits took several weeks to complete, though Castelluccio doesn't recall exactly how long.  "Hours and hours go by [when I'm painting]," he explains, "and it seems like minutes."

"The metal rod is called a maulstick.  It keeps your hand off the area that's wet, and it keeps your hand steady.  And then when I finish an area and it dries, I put a [clear] varnish over it so the work I've done is protected."