Lotto Lorenzo paintings and biography. Lorenzo Lotto: exhibition of paintings from Italian collections The unique style of Lorenzo Lotto

Lorenzo Lotto was born in Venice in 1480 and spent his childhood and youth in this city.

In Venice, he received his primary art education: Vasari writes that Lotto, "who imitated for some time the manner of Bellini, later joined the manner of Giorgione." Researchers of Lotto's work, however, suggest that he was a student of Alvise Vivarini, finding similarities in the manner of the two artists in the early works of the first. But definitely Bellini, as the most famous and significant Venetian master, influenced Lotto.

The young artist also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the achievements of contemporary northern painting: Dürer visited Venice in 1494-1495 (possibly) and in 1506-1507, and the engravings of the German artist were widely distributed south of the Alps.

Unable to compromise both in creativity and in the spiritual realm, Lorenzo Lotto lived a hectic life and often experienced material difficulties.

Not adjusting to the prevailing tastes, Lotto traveled in search of customers who could understand and appreciate his work.

The reconstruction of Lotto's biography and creative path is based on his correspondence, especially relating to the period of his stay in Bergamo, and Libro di spese diverse - records of income and expenses and a register of his works compiled by the artist himself.

Creativity Lotto

It is possible that Lotto adopted from Dürer a realistic depiction of details, and, at the same time, the pathos of fantastic visions.

Bright light, shining colors, clear contours in Lotto's works are the characteristic features of northern painting.

The style of artists such as Cima da Conegliano was much closer to Lotto than the painting of Giorgione, Bellini and his students with soft light enveloping the contours.

Between 1503 and 1504, Lotto is mentioned for the first time as a painter in Treviso, where he received his first important commission and experienced his first success. The cultural life of the provincial town revolved around the court of Bishop Bernardo de Rossi, which was made up of scientists and artists.

The portrait of the bishop, made by Lotto in 1505, with its "acute psychologism anticipates the portrait of the future."

For the portrait of de Rossi, Lotto created a "lid" - a complex allegory similar to the "Allegory of Chastity", also painted around 1505, a painting full of mysterious symbols.

Having acquired a considerable reputation in a few years, the artist was invited in 1506 to the Marche by the Dominicans of Recanati. With this monastic order, he kept in touch until the end of his days.

In 1508, Lotto completed a large altarpiece for the church of San Domenico in Recanati (now kept in the City Pinakothek). The work completes the cycle of the first works of Lotto, the artist has become a mature, well-established master.

After a brief period of success, he was forgotten and ridiculed in Venice. At the end of the 19th century (1895), Lotto was rediscovered for the general public by the art historian Bernard Berenson.

In Berenson's opinion: "In order to understand the sixteenth century, it is as important to know Lotto as it is to know Titian."

Lotto signed and dated many of his works.

Artist's work

• "Madonna and Child with St. Peter the Martyr", 1503, Capodimonte Museum, Naples
• "Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de Rossi", 1505, Capodimonte Museum, Naples
• "Allegorical composition", 1505, Washington
• "Portrait of a young man with an oil lamp", c. 1506, (Secretary to Bernardo dei Rossi for the pouch), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• "Altar of Tiverone", 1506, Church of Santa Cristina, Treviso
• "Portrait of an unknown youth", 1506, Uffizi, Florence
• Lamentation of Christ, 1508, Pinacoteca Comunale, Recanati
• "Polyptych with Recanati", 1508, Villa Coloredo MELZ, Recanati
• Martinengo Altarpiece, 1516, Bergamo
• "Portrait of Lucia Brembati", ca. 1518, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
• altar "Madonna enthroned with saints", 1521, Church of St. Bernardino, Bergamo
• "The Mystical Engagement of St. Catherine", 1523, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
• "Scenes from the life of St. Barbara", fresco 1524-1525, XUAR Triscore Oratory (near Bergamo)
• "The Way to Calvary", 1526, Louvre, Paris
• "Portrait of an unknown man with a golden paw of a lion", 1527, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• "Christ and the Sinner", in 1529, Louvre, Paris
• Andreo Odone Wipe, 1527, Royal Collection, London
• altar "St. Nicholas of Bari in Glory, 1529, Church of Santa Maria dei Carmine, Venice
• "Madonna and Child with St. Catherine of Alexandria and the Apostle Thomas", 1530, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• "Madonna and Child with Two Angels", Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
• "Portrait of a Young Man with a Pay Book", c. 1530, Academy Gallery, Florence

The well-known altar and mythological compositions of the mature Lotto usually combine an inner dullness of feeling with a rather outward beauty of the composition. Their chilly coloring and general even “pleasant” texture are also, in general, quite banal and stylistically close to mannerism. The lack of deep thought and feeling is sometimes made up for by very ingeniously introduced everyday details, on the depiction of which the artist willingly focuses. Thus, in his The Annunciation (late 1520s; Recanati, Church of Santa Maria sopra Mercanti), the viewer allows himself to be distracted from the uneasily interpreted main figures to the amusingly depicted frightened cat, darting away from the archangel who suddenly flew in.

The inscription in Latin, praising the selfless life of Lucretia, undoubtedly aims to connect the portrait of the lady with the heroine of ancient Roman history, Lucretia, who, being dishonored by the son of Tsar Tarquinius, preferred death to a shameful life. The virtuous women of antiquity were admired during the Renaissance. Lorenzo Lotto's early paintings show a strong influence from Venetian artists, including Giovanni Bellini. The master was receptive to various artistic impressions before he developed his own special style, in a peculiar way translating into it the advantages of Venetian colorism.

In the work of Lotto, who worked in the era of the Renaissance art crisis, the traditions of the Venetian and Lombard schools, the painting of Raphael, Correggio, the masters of Germany and the Netherlands, were peculiarly intertwined. His works (frescoes in Suardi's oratorio in Trescore, 1524; the altarpiece of St. Lucia, 1532, Communal Pinakothek, Jesi; portrait of a young man, 1506-1508, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) are characterized by emotional intensity and exaltation of images, sharp expressiveness in the interpretation of characters, details furnishings, landscape backgrounds, a variety of compositional solutions, the sophistication of sonorous color. In religious compositions and portraits (Madonna and Child, Angel and Saints, 1528, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; Andrea Odoni, 1527, Royal Collection, Hampton Court; Lady in the Form of Lucretia, 1533, National Gallery, London ) Lorenzo Lotto combined the sharpness of the characteristics with emotional intensity.

Other best works of the artist Lorenzo Lotto include:
Altar polyptych of San Bartolomeo in Bergamo; "Saint Jerome in the Desert" (Paris, Louvre); "Saint Nicholas in Glory" (Venice, Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo); "Assumption" (Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Celano); "Madonna with Saint Jerome and Saint Anthony of Padua" (Art Gallery, Birmingham); "Christ with the Apostles" (St. Petersburg, Hermitage); "Portrait of a young scientist" (Gallery of the Academy, Venice); "St. Anthony gives to the poor" (Venice, the church of Giovanni e Paolo); "Portrait of Fra Gregorio Belo of Vicenza" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

In the future, especially in the portrait, the features of concrete-life realism in the artist’s work are growing (“Portrait of a Woman”; The Hermitage, “Triple Portrait of a Man”). With a decrease in interest in revealing the ethical significance of the individual and the strength of her character, these portraits of Lotto, to some extent, still oppose the openly anti-realist line of Mannerism. The most significant realistic and democratic tendencies in Lotto's work were expressed in his cycle of paintings from the life of St. Lucia (1529/30), where the artist depicts whole scenes with obvious sympathy, as if snatched from the life of his time (for example, ox-drivers from the Miracle of St. Lucia, etc.). In them, the master, as it were, finds rest and peace from those feelings full of contradictions that arise in him in the context of the growing general political and economic crisis in Italy and which color a number of his later compositions in tones of subjective nervousness and uncertainty, leading him away from the tradition of Renaissance humanism.

The book of Lorenzo Lotto's expenses has been preserved, which shows that the artist's creative path was not easy and did not bring him financial success. A gifted portrait painter, a master capable of breathing life into the interpretation of various subjects, he left his native Venice and worked in various cities of Northern Italy. In the last years of his life, Lotto found shelter in a monastery.

Lorenzo Lotto occupies a special place among the great Italian Renaissance artists. More recently, this painter was in the shadow of his famous contemporaries and fellow countrymen, for centuries remaining unrecognized even at home. Meanwhile, the creative and life path of this misanthrope and nonconformist of the time of Titian, as well as the fate of some of his paintings, deserve attention, study, and often admiration.

Lotto and Italy of the High Renaissance

Lorenzo Lotto was born in 1480. Italian art at that time entered the era of the High Renaissance. The main direction in painting was determined by Venetian artists, and the inhabitants of mainland Italy sought to this city in order to adopt the style of eminent masters and find expression and recognition for their talent.

L. Lotto. "Madonna and Child with Two Benefactors"

Despite the fact that Lotto was lucky enough to spend his childhood and youth in Venice, having received an art education there, he in a sense did not become a Venetian artist.

Lotto's style of painting, already distinguished by its originality at the beginning of his career, was formed under the influence of already recognized masters such as Bellini and later Giorgione. Lotto's direct teacher is Alvise Vivarini, who occupies a rather modest place in the history of painting. But the work of Albrecht Dürer, as well as personal acquaintance with him, had a much greater impact on the work of the young artist.

L. Lotto. "Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de Rossi"

Lotto received his first major commission at the age of twenty-three in Treviso, where he went to complete a portrait of Bishop Bernardo di Rossi. For the portrait, the artist created a second canvas, a “lid”, on which he depicted an “Allegory of Virtue and Vice”. At first glance, containing an abstract plot, the composition was directly related to the customer of the portrait: for example, the destroyed tree symbolized the de Rossi family, which at that time was on the verge of extinction and was torn apart by contradictions between its individual branches.

L. Lotto. "Allegory of Virtue and Vice"

Not far from Treviso, in Tiveron, Lotto created the altar of the small church of St. Christina. The most successful and fruitful period of the artist's life is considered to be in the Marche region in Central Italy - the one where the cities of Ancona, Recanati, Jesi, Loreto are located. Currently, in many temples of this area you can find the work of Lotto - while in the great museums of the world their number is very small. The master also visited Rome, where in 1509, by order of Pope Julius II, he painted the interiors of the Vatican Palace. Lotto created many paintings in Bergamo, where he painted portraits of wealthy citizens.

L. Lotto. "Portrait of a Man"

Continuing to travel to different provinces of Italy, Lotto often took on commissions - both decorating the interiors of temples and creating portraits. Breaking out of the canons of painting that were customary for that time, Lorenzo Lotto did not enjoy the unconditional recognition that other Venetians, and especially Titian, had acquired. In addition, work in Venice required qualities from the artist that were contrary to Lotto's nature: the ability to achieve the patronage of wealthy patrons, to please eminent masters, and to comply with certain standards of painting.

L. Lotto "Giovanni della Volta with his family"

The unique style of Lorenzo Lotto

Focusing on the philosophy and guidelines of ancient art, Venetian painters created idealized, sublime images. Lotto, being a deeply religious, anxious, emotional person, in his works emphasized the human essence of the characters, involved the viewer in what was happening on the canvas, sometimes contrary to the canons, turning the eyes of the saints on him, as in the painting called “Madonna with four saints”.

L. Lotto "Madonna with four saints"

The portraits by Lorenzo Lotto are distinguished by their special depth, reflecting the inner world of the character. The master does not flatter the model, but conveys - with the help of facial expression, look, background, attributes, to which the artist has always approached with great care - the true psychological appearance of a person, and often his personal attitude.

L. Lotto "Portrait of Lucina Brembati"

In almost all of Lotto's works, there is a landscape, to which he paid considerable attention. In the painting “The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine”, behind the image of a parapet with a carpet thrown over it, a large rectangular space is smeared with dark paint. These are traces of ancient vandalism. In 1527, a certain French soldier, impressed by the beauty of the view of Sinai in the picture, cut out a piece of canvas for his personal collection. Neither the name of this person, nor the exact information about how the lost part of the picture looked like, history has preserved.

L. Lotto "The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine"

Lotto paid a lot of attention to detail - items such as books, flowers, shells, jewelry and accessories helped, according to the artist, to convey the mood and emotional background of what was happening on the canvas and more accurately depict the character of the person depicted in the picture. Lotto's work can be recognized by the careful study of the folds of fabrics, drapery, a combination of rich blue, red, yellow and green colors.

L. Lotto "St. James, the Wanderer"

His artistic style is so original that it allows to draw conclusions about the authorship even in the absence of a signature on the picture, as happened with the work, which is now called "Madonna delle Grazie". The painting came into the Hermitage collection in the twenties of the XX century from a private collection. Approximate dating was established - the 16th century, belonging to one of the Italian masters was also not in doubt. The dark curtain, against which the Madonna and Child were depicted, turned out, after infrared and X-ray studies, to be a later painting over of the previously painted figures of three angels. Suspecting the high level of skill that the work belonged to Lorenzo Lotto, art historians, after studying his notes, concluded that the painting was created by him in 1542.

L. Lotto "Madonna delle Grazie"

The Legacy of Lorenzo Lotto and His Place in Art History

Lotto left behind not only more than a hundred paintings, but also personal correspondence, as well as the so-called "Book of Accounts", which he kept from 1538 and where he recorded all the money received and spent. Thanks to this book, it became possible to establish the authorship of his paintings, which were found without signatures and other identification marks. From the records it is known that for some time the artist tried to settle in Venice, renting housing from his relative Mario d'Arman and his daughter Lucrezia.

L. Lotto "Christ says goodbye to his mother"

Nevertheless, from the age of 70, Lorenzo Lotto became a novice of the Dominican monastery of Santa Casa in Loreto, for which he had already completed a number of orders during his travels in Italy. Until the end of his life, Lotto was distinguished by strict self-discipline, piety, suffered from a lack of recognition, and generally had difficulty finding a common language with people. The artist died in the monastery at the age of about 77 years. Probably Lotto's last work was "Bringing to the Temple".

L. Lotto "Bringing to the temple"

The special style of Lotto's painting and the great competition from Italian artists for several centuries made him practically unknown to the general public. Glory to the creative heritage of Lorenzo Lotto was brought by the work of art historian Bernard Berenson, who at the end of the 19th century rediscovered this artist to the world. In 1953, a major exhibition of his works was held in Italy.

According to the researchers of Lotto's painting, if the art of Venice had followed this artist, it would have developed along the path not to Tintoretto, but to Rembrandt. Indeed, with Northern Renaissance the paintings of the Venetian have much in common that does not cancel either the unique style or the special place they occupy in the art of the Renaissance.

1480 - 1556
One of the largest Venetian painters, a student, apparently, of Giovanni Bellini (according to another assumption, a student of Alvise Vivarini), who later developed under the influence of Giorgione and partly Correggio. *** Born in Venice. He worked in Treviso, Recanati, Rome, Bergamo. From 1526 to 1542 and from 1545 to 1549 he lived in Venice. He spent the last years of his life in the religious center, the sanctuary of Santa Casa in Loreto, where he was engaged in the restoration of paintings and the decoration of statues. He died about 1556, probably in Loretto. In his talent, he combined the color qualities characteristic of the Venetian school with the search for truth and beauty, with resourcefulness in composition and, in general, with a high poetic feeling. He painted mainly religious paintings, but also portraits. His works are found in many Italian churches and art galleries. They are not rare in the museums of England and Central Europe. The most remarkable of them are in the churches: S. Spirito (“The Betrothal of St. Catherine”), S. Bernardino (“Madonna Enthroned, with Saints Present”) and S. Bartholommeo (“Adoration of the Virgin to the Child Christ”) in Bergamo and in the crk. S. Dominico ("The Taking of the Virgin into Heaven") in Ancona. The Imperial Hermitage has three paintings by Lorenzo Lotto: Madonna, The Dream of the Christ Child and Portrait of a Man.

An artistic journey along the paths of Lorenzo Lotto. Autumn Bergamo through the eyes of a 16th-century artist January 14th, 2013

(1480-1556). "The mystical betrothal of St. Catherine" (1523) from the collection of the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo. Fragment

"... the exhibition exhibits the painting "The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine" (1523), created by the master while working in Bergamo. Her customer was depicted to the left of the Madonna Niccolo Bongi, in whose house the work was for quite a long time. The figures are depicted against the background of the parapet, through which is thrown over the carpet. Behind him, Lotto depicted a beautiful, according to the description of his contemporaries, landscape overlooking Mount Sinai. In 1527, when the French troops were in Bergamo, one soldier cut out this fragment of the composition and took it with him ... "

Press release of the Pushkin Museum A.S. Pushkin

An artistic journey along the paths of Lorenzo Lotto
An exaggeration in Italian - let's move Bergamo five thousand kilometers to the south.

It hardly makes sense to retell in your own words the information about the work of Lorenzo Lotto received at a press conference dedicated to the opening of the exhibition "Lorenzo Lotto. Renaissance in the Marche province. Paintings from Italian collections" in the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin. Let's leave this privilege to certified art critics. Why reinvent the wheel when you can repeat a press release written by museum staff? I will dedicate my story about the impressions that arose after meeting the work of a talented Italian artist of the 16th century to Italy. More precisely, the beautiful Italian cities and roads that have retained their charm since the time of Lorenzo Lotto. Venice, Bergamo, Urbino, Loreto, Montefeltro...

Autumn in Bergamo

At the very beginning of the press conference, I suspected the Italian organizers of the exhibition “Lorenzo Lotto. Renaissance in the province of the Marche”, no, not in deceit!, but in a slight exaggeration. The distance from the city of Urbino, the ancient capital of Montefeltro, to Bergamo is approximately 400-500 kilometers - it is difficult to imagine that the Marche region is so large. In addition, it is rather difficult to confuse the low mountains of Montefeltro with the foothills of the Alps. Despite such obvious inconsistencies, the very name of the exhibition puts forward the Marche region in first place, as opposed to the Lombardy region, in which the city of Bergamo, well-known to Russian people, is located - the birthplace of Trufaldino, Gaetano Donizetti and J. Quarenghi, the author of many buildings in St. Petersburg. The Accademia Carrara Museum of Bergamo presented three paintings by Lorenzo Lotto for the exhibition. Despite such a significant participation in the exhibition, only representatives of the Marche region, as well as the Ambassador of the Italian Republic, Mr. Antonio Zanardi Landi, attended the press conference from Italy.
What's the matter? I suppose that the situation is explained quite simply. A hundred thousandth but proud Bergamo cannot complain about the lack of interest on the part of Russian tourists. The town is located near Milan and Lake Como, and, despite its small size, direct flights connect it with Moscow. While the Marche province is undeservedly deprived of the attention of Russian travelers. As I already wrote, despite the location near Florence, San Marino and Rimini, which seems advantageous at first, the picturesque area of ​​Montefeltro remains "terra incognita". Tourists usually bypass the Marche region on freeways. It's a pity, because in addition to the rich history and architecture, this area is able to attract fans of eco-tourism. And the exhibition of Lorenzo Lotto can serve as a good advertisement for Marche, which the more interested party did not fail to take advantage of. Repeatedly in the speeches of the Italians, phrases were heard that they are grateful to the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin for the opportunity to show the general public paintings from small provincial galleries. Indeed, exhibiting works of art in a world-class museum gives excellent chances to catch the eye of a large number of viewers, to gain fame befitting the name of the artist. And there, you see, the flow of tourists to Urbino, Ancona, Jesi and Loreto will also increase.

In Upper Bergamo you can still see what was built several centuries before Lorenzo Lotto

The exposition of the exhibition includes the famous "Portrait of Lucina Brembati" (circa 1518), "The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine" (1523) and "St. Family with St. Catherine of Alexandria" (1533). All paintings are from the collection of the Accademia Carrara (Bergamo). Alas, I did not have a chance to see the works of Lotto in their native walls. Unfortunately, the Academy of Carrara during my visit to the city was closed for a long renovation. Botticelli, Raphael, Rubens, Pisanello, Carpaccio, Canaletto, Bellini, Mantegna are sweet names for any art lover. On the other hand, we managed to see the cyclopean walls of the Upper City, as if built by ancient giants, and enjoy the picturesque landscapes of autumn Italy.
Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) was born in Venice, but was forced to leave this city at a fairly young age. His life and work are inextricably linked with the cities of such regions of Northern Italy as Lombardy and Veneto. Outside of Venice, in the provinces, Lotto received orders and worked, doomed to an unsettled life until the end of his days. The life of the artist was as hectic as the story of Bergamo himself, who survived the invasion of the barbarians after the fall of the Roman Empire, the struggle against papal or imperial power, and at the same time internecine disputes between the Guelph and Ghibelline clans. In the end, weakened by countless conflicts, the city became part of the brightest Republic of Venice (Serenissima), which ensured peace and prosperity for small Bergamo just in time for Lorenzo Lotto. The facades of many buildings are still decorated with images of a winged lion resting its paw on an open book - the symbol of the Evangelist Mark, the patron saint of Venice.

Bergamo (Italy). Walls of the Upper City

The artist could observe how the authorities of Venice erected a new ring of fortifications around the city, which strikes with cyclopean proportions in our time. To make the impressions of Bergamo clearer, I will say that next to the dark walls of Upper Bergamo, the Moscow Kremlin would look like a country fence against the backdrop of real fortress walls. Alas, neither one nor the other fortifications were able to protect their cities from enemies. The Italian masters were great builders, however, their buildings seemed to bear a black seal - the enemy entered the useless fortresses without a fight. Once Napoleon invaded the Apennine Peninsula and overthrew the Venetian Republic. A little later, the French entered the Moscow Kremlin, however, the results of the war of 1812 differed from the Italian campaign of the French emperor. The hard stone turned out to be weaker in comparison with the human courage and selflessness of the Russian patriots who brought freedom both to their country and to the good half of Europe. While the fight against the invasion of Napoleon for the Bergamese consisted mainly in the fact that the bravest inhabitants of the city carefully disguised and preserved the images of the main symbol of the Venetian Republic, the winged lion, which was outlawed.

Palazzo della Ragione (left) and Campanone tower (right)

The heart of Upper Bergamo is Vecchia Square (p. Vecchia) or Old Square. The architectural ensemble of the square was formed in the Renaissance, between 1440 and 1493, after the demolition of some old buildings of the X-XI centuries. The Town Hall of the Palazzo della Raggione (Palazzo della Raggione) - a symbol of the medieval city-republic - was built in the second half of the 12th century, but received its facade only in 1453. The main interior of Capriate is decorated with frescoes by Bramante, collected from various churches and palaces of Bergamo. Today the town hall building is open to visitors and is used for exhibitions. Since the beginning of the 13th century, the symbol of Bergamo has been its main high-rise dominant on the Old Square - the Campanone Tower (Torre del Campanone), built in the 11th century. The tower was thoroughly rebuilt after a fire in 1486, and since then it has retained its appearance. Most likely, already in the time of Lorenzo Lotto, the square was called the Old.
On the other side of the square today is the building of the city library of Angelo May, the construction of which began half a century after the death of the artist. But the Church of San Michele al Arco (Chiese di San Michele all'Arco) has been known since 897. Through the gallery of the town hall you can go to the small Duomo Square (p. del Duomo), the central place on which is occupied by the famous Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore), the main decoration of which is a magnificent multi-colored portal. Next to the basilica is the baptistery, a place for baptism, which was built in 1340 by the architect Campione. The octagonal structure is significantly inferior in size to similar structures in Florence or Parma, but is in perfect harmony with the portal of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The slender columns of the second tier, made of pink Verona marble, give it a special grace.

Interiors of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore)

As the name implies, the square itself was planned for the construction of the Cathedral of Sant'Allesandro (Duomo di Sant'Allessandro), dedicated to the patron saint of Bergamo. It was erected on the site of a former temple built in the 6th century. Construction took a long time: in the middle of the 15th century, the architect A. Averulino (better known as Filarete) built the nave and six chapels. It was in this state that Lorenzo Lotto saw the cathedral, since construction continued only in 1689, and the dome appeared only in the 19th century.
Five centuries ago, Lorenzo Lotto passed through the labyrinths of the narrow streets of the Upper City. Many houses and structures that the great artist could see have survived to our times. Tourists may be interested in the mansions (palazzo) of the Bergamo nobility - the Terzi, Moroni, Medolago Albani and Alardi families - now they are open to the public. It is not difficult to recognize the houses of the nobles by the obligatory tower, the height of which sometimes symbolized the size of wealth and the height of the position in medieval society. It is not for nothing that I give the dates of construction of a particular church so carefully - a scrupulous reader will easily understand that the main architectural dominants of Upper Bergamo have not changed much since the 16th century, when Lorenzo Lotto lived there.

Upper Bergamo. View from the castle on the roofs of the Upper Town

Lorenzo Lotto / Lorenzo Lotto(1480-1556). "St. Family with St. Catherine of Alexandria" (1533) from the collection of the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

"... The fate of another painting dedicated to the image of St. Catherine - "The Holy Family with St. Catherine of Alexandria" is less dramatic. The painting was signed by the artist and dated 1533. In the composition, where the figure of the sleeping Christ child serves as the center of attraction, there is an allusion to the impending death of the Savior. The canvas has long been recognized as one of the highest examples of Lotto's color mastery, who managed to create an amazingly beautiful harmony of shades of green, red and gray, moving from pearl to deep dark tones. The artist enriches the play of color with the vibration of folds and chiaroscuro."