''Santa Cristina al Tiverone Altarpiece'' is an oil-on-panel painting by the Italian Renaissance painter

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian 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, religiou ...

, executed around 1504–1506. It is still housed in its original location, the parish church of Santa Cristina in Quinto di Treviso, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Measuring 90x179 cm ( lunette) and 177x162 cm (central panel), it is signed "Laurentius / Lotus / P. nxit at the base of the throne. It was perhaps commissioned around 1505 by bishop

Bernardo de' Rossi Bernardo de' Rossi (26 August 1468 – 28 June 1527) was an Italian bishop and patron of the arts. Biography Rossi was the son of a feudal family of the area of Parma, at a young age he received the archdeaconate of Padua and the Abbey of St ...

, in whose court Lotto worked at the time. It was released on 14 May 1507, just before the artist's move to

Recanati Recanati () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Macerata, in the Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, ...

Description

The main panel, of rectangular shape, shows a

sacred conversation In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of sain ...

with ''Madonna and Child'' sitting on a large throne. Around her are the saints Peter, Christine, Liberalis and Jerome, all enclosed within a classical style architecture. The composition derives from Giovanni Bellini's

San Zaccaria Altarpiece The ''San Zaccaria Altarpiece'' (also called ''Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints'') is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini, executed in 1505 and located in the church of San Zaccaria, Venice. History The work w ...

, as testified by the niche in the throne with Byzantine mosaics, and the oriental carpet at Mary's feet. Perhaps inspired by

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quali ...

's ''

Castelfranco Madonna The ''Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius'', also known as ''Castelfranco Madonna'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giorgione executed around 1504. It remains in the equivalent of its original setting, in a sid ...

'' is the figure of Liberalis, the patron saint of Treviso, as a knight holding a model of the city in a hand. The baby Jesus holds a goldfinch, an allegory of his future Passion. The right side opens on an external wall covered by grass. The lunette shows instead a ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

'', also based on Bellini, with the dead Christ supported by two angels.

Sources

External links

Page at the museum website
{{Lorenzo Lotto 1500s paintings Paintings of the Madonna and Child by Lorenzo Lotto Paintings of Jerome Finches in art Paintings in Treviso Angels in art Books in art Altarpieces