Gubbio was the birthplace of Oderisio, a famous miniature painter (1240-1299), mentioned by Dante as the honour of his native town (_Purg._ xi. 80 "_l'onor d'Agobbio_"), but no authentic works by him exist. In the 14th and 15th centuries a branch of the Umbrian school of painting flourished here, the most famous masters of which were Guido Palmerucci (1280-1345?) and several members of the Nelli family, particularly Ottaviano (d. 1444), whose best work is the "Madonna del Belvedere" in S. Maria Nuova at Gubbio (1404), extremely well preserved, with bright colouring and fine details. Another work by him is the group of frescoes including a large "Last Judgment," and scenes from the life of St Augustine, in the church of S. Agostino, discovered in 1902 under a coating of whitewash. These painters seem to have been influenced by the contemporary masters of the Sienese school. Gubbio occupies a far more important place in the history of majolica. In a decree of 1438 a _vasarius vasorum pictorum_ is mentioned, who probably was not the first of his trade. The art was brought to perfection by Giorgio Andreoli, whose father had emigrated hither from Pavia, and who in 1498 became a citizen of Gubbio. The works by his hand are remarkable for their ruby tint, with a beautiful metallic lustre; but only one small tazza remains in Gubbio itself. His art was carried on by his sons, Cencio and Ubaldo, but was afterwards lost, and only recovered in 1853 by Angelico Fabbri and Luigi Carocci. Two miles outside Porta Metauro to the N.E. is the Bottaccione, a large water reservoir, constructed in the 12th or 14th century; the water is collected in the bed of a stream by a massive dam. See A. Colasanti, _Gubbio_ (Bergamo, 1905); L. McCracken, _Gubbio_ (London, 1905). (T. As.) GUBEN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, at the confluence of the Lubis with the Neisse, 28 m. S.S.E. of Frankfort-on-Oder, at the junction of railways to Breslau, Halle and Forst. Pop. (1875) 23,704; (1905) 36,666. It possesses three Evangelical churches, a Roman Catholic church, a synagogue, a gymnasium, a modern school, a museum and a theatre. The principal industries are the spinning and weaving of wool, dyeing, tanning, and the manufacture of pottery ware, hats, cloth, paper and machinery. The vine is cultivated in the neighbourhood to some extent, and there is also some trade in fruit and vegetables. Guben is of Wendish origin. It is mentioned in 1207 and received civic rights in 1235. It was surrounded by walls in 1311, about which time it came into the possession of the margrave of Brandenburg, from whom it passed to Bohemia in 1368. It was twice devastated by the Hussites, and in 1631 and 1642 it was occupied by the Swedes. By the peace of Prague in 1635 it came into the possession of the elector of Saxony, and in 1815 it was, with the rest of Lower Lusatia, united to Prussia.