Venus and Cupid by Lorenzo Lotto

Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.

Venus and Cupid

Lorenzo Lotto · 1520s

Artist
Lorenzo Lotto Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto
Date
1520s
Medium
Oil on canvas
Size
36 3/8 x 43 7/8 in. (92.4 x 111.4 cm)
Where to see it
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 · CC0 Public Domain · The Met · see it at the museum ↗

Slow Look

  1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
  2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
  3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
  4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
  5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?

About Lorenzo Lotto

Lorenzo Lotto was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits. He was active during the High Renaissance and the first half of the Mannerist period, but his work maintained a generally similar High Renaissance style throughout his career, although his nervous and eccentric posings and distortions represented a transitional stage to the Florentine and Roman Mannerists.

Painter profile →

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