3-072-026 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Madonna and Child with the Saints John the Baptist, Francis of Assisi, Joseph (?) and Catherine of Alexandria, c1508. The adoration of the Child was a frequent theme of Italian Renaissance paintings, but Lotto presented his interpretation of this. A group of six characters was placed against the background of green, folded curtain, beside which, on the left, we see the blue sky with white clouds. Mary is sitting on a stone bench, her hands joined in prayer, she is leaning over the Child sleeping on her knees. On the left is St Francis of Assisi, and on the right is St Catherine of Alexandria. Between Mary's head and the figure of St Francis, we see the head of a hooded older man. This person was interpreted most frequently as Saint Jerome, although there were also suggestions that it may be Saint Joseph.