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Madonna with Child, Saint Anne and Young John the Baptist

Lorenzo Lotto

  • Madonna with Child, Saint Anne and Young John the Baptist 2
  • Madonna with Child, Saint Anne and Young John the Baptist 3
Basic information
ID
Ж-2245
Author
Lorenzo Lotto
Name
Madonna with Child, Saint Anne and Young John the Baptist
Technique
oil painting
Material
wood oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
78.7 x 58
Additionally
Type
painting
Genre
religious
Plot
Madonna. Mary with the Christ-child
Provenance
Collection of Wladyslaw Lozinski in Lviv
Exposition
Potocki Palace
Information about author
Author
Lorenzo Lotto
Artist's lifetime
c.1480 – c.1556
Country
Italy
Biography
Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – c. 1556) was an Italian Renaissance artist known for his religious compositions, mythological and allegorical paintings. He was one of the most talented portraitists of the Late Renaissance in Italy, alongside artists like Titian. He worked mainly in the northern Italian cities of Recanati, Ancona, Bergamo, Treviso, and Venice. Alchemy and mysticism, symbols, secrets, and mysteries are hidden within the beautiful, luminous images created by Lorenzo Lotto. In Bergamo, the artist left behind remarkable altarpiece paintings, and in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, he created masterful intarsia works.
Object description
The painting depicts a remarkable iconographic theme common in the Christian tradition. The Virgin Mary and her divine son, whom she holds in her arms, are the main characters in this scene, also known as the "Sacred Conversation". The nudity of the little Jesus is of particular note, revealing his earthly nature and complementing his divine nature. Interesting is the unusual presence of an older woman in the background, traditionally identified as St. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, but could possibly be St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. This painting likely depicts St. Anne as she is holding a book. Anne extends a goldfinch to the Messiah because, according to Christian belief, the red spot on the bird's head appeared during Jesus' ascent to Golgotha, when the bird pulled a thorn from the Saviour's crown and stained its feathers with blood. Mary points to the goldfinch with her right finger, emphasising the importance of this symbolic element in the painting.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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