Virgin Mary and Child with Saint Francis by Lorenzo Lotto
Blessed Virgin Mary and Child with Saint Francis of Assisi, by Lorenzo Lotto, painted between 1540-1545
Lorenzo Lotto was a late Renaissance Italian painter known for his perceptive portraits and mystical paintings of religious subjects. Being one of the most prolific Venetian artists of the sixteenth century, Lorenzo is known for his nomadic career and highly individual style. He primarily produced religious paintings and portraits that were particularly popular in the Venetian mainland and the papal states of the Marches.
In the earlier years of his life, he lived at Treviso, and, although he was influenced by the Venetians Giovanni Bellini and Antonello da Messina, he always remained somewhat apart from the main Venetian tradition.
Between 1508 and 1512, Lotto was in Rome, where he was influenced by Raphael, who was painting the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican palace. Lotto abandoned the dryness and cool colour of his earlier style and adopted a fluid method and a rich, joyful colouring. In 1526 or 1527 Lotto returned to Venice, where he was briefly influenced by the glowing palette and grand compositional schemes of Titian.
Lotto was back in Venice in 1540. In his old age he was destitute and was forced to paint numbers on hospital beds to earn a living. In 1554, partially blind, he entered the Santa Casa in Loreto as an oblate member with a permission to reside and work there. There he began one of his most sensitive masterpieces, the Presentation in the Temple, which remained unfinished at his death.
This work consists on a beautiful depiction of the Holy Child, curiously gazing at Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis was known for his passionate adoration of our Lord Jesus, throught al the misteries of his life, starting with his birth in Bethlehem.
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