Lorenzo Lotto
Ritratto di giovane uomo

Venice, 1527

Renaissance Venice is the city where the great Venetian artist Lorenzo Lotto was born and studied painting, who during his life did not receive the acclaim and success he deserved.

Lotto was an unusual character, who must have appeared too restless and melancholic even for environments so free in customs like the salons of Venetian patrician houses. Moreover, Venice was not lacking in artists of great talent and personality, from the Bellini family to Giorgione and Titian, and even artists who had moved from Rome to Venice after the Sack of Rome in 1527.

It is probably at this time that Lotto begins the Portrait of a Gentleman in His Study. The young man is a stranger and perhaps not even Venetian. Very little can be understood by looking at the surrounding environment in which this pale gentleman lives. He does not look at us nor does he direct his gaze even at the one who is portraying him, or so Lorenzo Lotto intended. Surely, the artist knows well the room and the landscape glimpsed from the window, but he has no intention of creating details that could make us understand where we are and with whom. The gentleman and the artist know each other, and there is respect and a serene awareness of sharing the same melancholy. When Lotto paints this portrait, he is already almost forty-seven years old, while the young man, with a gaunt face and long delicate hands, seems ageless: his time has stopped in that place and at that moment. We can infer, from the objects on the table and the wall, the interests and passions that have animated and involved the gentleman in the portrait, sentiments that distinguish him from the minor nobility of the time. There is no arrogance or deliberate and manifest detachment in the attitude and almost abandoned relaxed position of this young man toward the artist in front of him. These, indeed, are not times when artists always found ample consideration for their merits: sometimes, precisely those being portrayed tended to emphasize, with posture and facial expression, belonging to a rank superior to that of the artist. In this case, however, Lotto's introspective ability establishes a precious connection with the young man made of mutual exchange, dialogue, and shared awareness and sensitivity. But towards what, one wonders? Probably about the transience of existence, the fate that binds men to unpredictable events, the beauty and enchantment that a thought or memory brings to the surface. Who knows.

Lotto combines in this portrait all the technical knowledge of Venetian painting, enlivening it with Flemish and Leonardesque inspirations accumulated and studied in his travels between the Most Serene Republic of Venice and lands beyond its borders.

And yet, it is only the artist's skill that makes this portrait so intriguing. Let's go step by step. Let's start with the silence and meditation that some objects convey: the heavy volume the young man is leafing through absent-mindedly, the writing instruments, the letters abandoned on the table, one of which is semi-open, with evident signs of frequent rereading. The masculinity of this young man, also devoted to outdoor activities, is highlighted by the presence of a hunting horn, the basket, and a dead bird hanging on the wall. Furthermore, the signs of a life rich in cultural interests, but also of sentiments, are linked to the presence of a lute hanging, a refined fringed shawl of a shiny turquoise color, and the delicate rose petals scattered on the table. All are objects tied to the mystery of this young man's life, so we can only imagine some of the meanings to interpret the enigma of this portrait, such as the presence of the ring and the gold band that instead of being worn remain abandoned on the table. And yet: the presence of the motionless lizard, which seems to observe the young man closely, or the keys resting on the cabinet struck by a ray of light...

Now let's try to re-examine the portrait from the view of composition, colors, and the skillful organizational choice. Two cool tones connect the upper left corner to the lower right corner: the blue of the sky and the changing turquoise of the shawl, the green that delimits the landscape, and the green of the heavy tablecloth covering the table. The entire central part is imbued with dark and neutral colors, but the thin strip of skin peeking from the leggings, the hands, and the face bring our attention back to the figure of the young man, thanks to the beam of light Lotto uses for this purpose.

And yet there is still something that surprises.

Let's try to look at the portrait of the Gentleman with the Lion Paw, preserved in Vienna, at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and started and probably completed the same year, 1527. This too is the portrait of an unknown young gentleman, accompanied by the presence of some symbols. But this was normal in those years, symbols became messages that communicated, and underlined, the character or passions of the people portrayed. But let’s return to the two paintings and compare them.

In the gentleman holding a strange amulet of a small animal in his left hand, there is the evident intent to be understood, to involve: he directs his warm and aware gaze towards us and the artist. He is a handsome young man sure of his rank and of good character, to the point of showing a slight good humor in the expression of his face and the pose of his body. In this portrait, there is life and warmth that only wealth, accompanied by a healthy and positive vigor, can create.

The background is really minimal. The two complementary colors, red and green, enhance interest in the figure in the foreground without creating distractions in observing the reflections and transparencies of his pupils, down to the refined elegance of the cloak, the precious rings, the golden talisman.

Let's return to the previous work: the Portrait of a Gentleman in His Study. What a strange feeling of melancholy is felt in the painting. Often, the expression of the young gentleman has been interpreted as an enigmatic and cold detachment, incommunicability. What could be the reason? Yet the painting is full, almost brimming with symbols. And everything is in its place: the landscape, the silent interior of a house of stern elegance, the objects of a lived life, the portrait of a gentleman dressed with the elegant sophistication of provincial nobility... but there is still something that can help us understand. Perhaps time, which in every life brings damage and loots, in this portrait has stopped. Lotto gathered what he could of that life and that story. The artist had the ability to understand where to stop, in collecting and distributing the memories. He could do no more: death commands respect.