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Lorenzo Lotto: Madonna delle Grazie From 8 December 2007 for the International Friends of the Hermitage Day, in the Appollo Hall, the Madonna delle Grazie is on display, painted by the 16th century artist Lorenzo Lotto, whose authorship was only recently established by its custodian, I.S. Artemieva, Doctor of History, and a senior researcher at the West European Art Department of the State Hermitage Museum. The restoration of the painting by Lorenzo Lotto was carried out by the the State Hermitage's Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Easel Painting (the laboratory directory is V.A. Korobov) by artist and restorer S.A.Kiselev. Lorenzo Lotto (1480 - 1556/7) died 450 years ago in Loret. The painter, without hyperbole can be described as the most extravagant and inimitable genius of the Italian Renaissance. Lorenzo Lotto settled in Loreto in his later years, having passed his 70th birthday. The artist painted his final works for the Shrine of Holy House, to which he bequethed all his belongings. It was here that in 1892 a unique document was discovered: a little notebook with "1542 - Account Book" written on the cover. In it Lorenzo Lotto very carefully records all income and expenditure starting from 1542 until his death. From one of the entries in this account book it has been possible to match the Madonna, previous in storage at the State Hermitage Museum as the work of an unknown artist. The painting attracted attention due to the vivacity of its execution, which is evidence of the unusual mastery of its author. There are particular, individual mannerisms in the painting that implicitly pointed at Lorenzo Lotto: the bright, rich colours, built up on the irreplaceable combination of intensive blue, red, yellow and green, the whimsical play of drapes, the characteristic plastic for movement, the face of Madonna and the baby Jesus is repeated frequently by the artist in the 1540s. Such a dating meant that the painting must be mentioned in the account book. In January 1542 the master wrote: "... for the painting with Madonna and the three angels, which messere Mario desired to see finished by the time Lucretia went into the nunnery - 12 ducats (74 liras 8 soldos)". The next entry in the diary appears in March: "10 March- for the preparation of dowel for Lucretia's painting, my niece, that is the painting with Madonna delle Grazie - 6 soldos". In July of that same year, Lotto pays for a metal guilt case with a lid: "...July 1542 for a frame with a lunette for the Madonna delle Grazie, for Lucretia - for the wooden frame 3 liras 5 soldos, for the gilt lunette, that is the iron case with lid - 11 liras 3 soldos". But what do these two Madonna delle Grazie, the one finished in 1542 for Lucretia and the one in the State Hermitage Collection have in common - the account book surely states: "...Madonna with three angels", and in our painting there aren't any angels. Along with this comment and the dark curtain which exists in our painting and strongly clashes with the bright lighting of Madonna and the child, it was intuitively felt that special research into the painting was necessary. The results were received in State Hermitage's Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration, giving a comprehensive answer to all questions and removing all doubts: by using x-ray and infrared techniques to view beneath the curtain (a later painting) and behind the back of the Madonna the figures of three angels were clearly visible. Furthermore, they were so well prepared that it raised the hopes of being able to successfully restore the image. In the process of restoring the painting (restorer S.A.Kiselev) after removing later stains and additions it was possible to discover the true author composition, and now we can confirm that the painting which is before the public today is that very same Madonna delle Grazie that was painted by Lorenzo Lotto in Venice at the start of 1542. The restoration has opened up for all to see the richness of colour in the painting: the bright, colourful brushes at the first stage are supported by subtle transitions of the some tones in the clothing of the three angels. The facial expressions and gestures cause a religious tremor from the contemplation of May and her child. It was no chance that Lotto named his painting Madonna delle Grazie - The blessed Mary is a reminder of the words of the Archangel Gabriel, predicting the future birth of the Saviour: "Rejoice, blessed one, you are blessed among wives ..." The enthusiastic gesture of Mary, admiring the son of God is also indicative: Lotto often repeats it in his compositions, and the inhabitants of Marche claim that the artist copied it from peasant women who still raise their arms in surprise and joy just in the same way. After the temporary exhibition coinciding with the December Days at the State Hermitage Museum, Lorenzo Lotto's Madonna delle Grazie will take its place in the permanent exhibition of Renaissance Venetian painting. |
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