I
don’t do enough art. I caught on TV last
night art that is at Basilica of Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy. Loreto is the famous city where the
supposedly the house of the Virgin Mary was transported and rebuilt, and where
we get the wonderful Litany of Loreto. One of the featured artists was Renaissance artist
Lorenzo Lotto. I had never heard of
Lotto, but from the paintings highlighted I was very impressed. So I went and looked him up.
He
comes from the Venetian school and a contemporary of Titian. In fact on a cursory review it looks like Lotto’s
art was much akin to Titian’s, and though I’m not an art scholar I would say it
compares favorably. And that’s saying a
lot. Lotto seems to have specialized in
religious subjects, and ultimately becoming a Franciscan Lay brother and
spending the last seven years of his life at Loreto.
Here
are a few of his works that really impress me.
I’m
not sure why he adds St. Catherine of Alexandria here, but the positioning of
arms here is very interesting, as is the color and background. The
Holy Family with St. Catherine of Alexandria, 1533.
And
here is the Holy Family with my St. Catherine, dramatizing the mystical
marriage with Christ, here portrayed as a child. The
Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena, 1508.
Now
this Annunciation seems like a modernist surreal painting, with the Virgin
facing away and a cat at the center. Recanati Annunciation, 1534. You can read about this one on
Wikipedia.
I
really like a number of Lotto’s secular portraits. Here’s Portrait
of Gentleman with Gloves, 1543.
Finally
here’s a self-portrait from sometime in the 1540s.
He
really emphasizes the artist’s eye.
