Lorenzo Lotto Portraits

An extraordinary insight into Lorenzo Lotto’s distinctive style, the world in which he lived, and the people he so vividly portrayed

Lorenzo Lotto uniquely portrayed a cross section of middle-class sitters, among them clerics, merchants and humanists. His compositions are rich in symbolism and imbued with great psychological depth, and the prominent inclusion of objects which hinted at the social status, interests and aspirations of his subjects adds meaning to each work.

Despite the enormous appreciation that Lotto has enjoyed since Bernard Berenson (1856–1959) identified him as the first modern portraitist, no monograph has been devoted to this specific aspect of his work. This catalogue rectifies the omission, offering an unprecedented display of the artist’s still relatively unknown portrait drawings alongside his painted ones produced over the course of five decades. It also includes essays by leading experts discussing the technical, material, social and technological issues relating to Lotto’s portraits, as well as a revision of the documentary sources for their study.

'A constant reminder that this was an artist of the first rank … he deserves to be regarded as one of the 16th century’s finest artists'
Art Newspaper

Contents List

Introduction by Enrico Maria dal Pozzolo y Miguel Falomir • Essays: Lorenzo Lotto and the Italian society of His Time, Federica Ambrissini • Essay by Enrico Maria dal Pozzolo • Portait Mechanics, Miguel Falomir y Ana González Mozo • The Object in Lotto Portraits, Alvar González Palacios • The Dress Code in Lotto Portraits, Doretta Davanzo Poli • Lotto Principals in the Veneto, Giuseppe Gullino • Bérgamo, Gianmario Petrò • Le Marchie, Francesco de Carolis

About the Author

Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo is Associate Professor in the History of Art at the University of Verona, specializing mainly on Venetian painting of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He has published widely on Renaissance art, and has curated a number of acclaimed exhibitions, most recently on Andrea Schiavone at the Museo Correr di Venezia.

Miguel Falomir is Director of the Museo Nacional del Prado.

List of Contributors

Matthias Wivel