The Virgin Mary tenderly holds Christ on her lap, while the donors who commissioned this panel kneel below them, their eyes raised in reverence. The Christ child meets their gaze as he rewards their piety with a blessing. A fig branch is visible in the frame of the window in the background, a symbol of Christ's resurrection.
Lotto divides his composition in two, framing the Virgin and Christ child with swathes of drapery, while the space inhabited by the kneeling couple is distinctly delineated: they are positioned against a wall with a window which opens onto a view of a distant landscape. The appearance of the figures on either side of the composition is characteristically different. The Virgin’s brightly-colored robes contrast with the somber dress of the donors. Lotto has depicted mother and child in twisting, angular poses, with the Madonna balancing in contrapposto, while the kneeling couple are shown in profile, in rigid, upright positions. This division serves to emphasize the contrast between the earthly and the spiritual realms, but might also be explained by the fact that the figures of the Virgin and her son are thought to have been borrowed from a composition by another artist, perhaps someone in the circle of Raphael (1483 – 1520) or Giulio Romano (about 1499 – 1546). The differentiation between the two sets of figures has also led scholars to suggest that this painting demonstrates a transitional phase in Lotto’s work.
Donors were frequently portrayed in paintings that they commissioned from the Medieval period onwards. This specific kind of composition, in which kneeling donors are depicted in profile alongside the Virgin and Child was developed by a fellow Venetian artist, Giovanni Bellini (about 1435 – 1516), in the 1490s, and became increasingly popular in the early 1500s. While earlier donor portraits were typically altarpieces, by the fifteenth century such paintings were also commissioned to display in the home or for private chapels. These works served both as portraits of the individuals who funded them, and as testimony to their piety.
We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.
Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.
Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.
Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..
Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.
Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.
Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)
All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.
Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.
Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.
