Portrait of Lucina Brembati
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Lucina Brembati is a painting by the Italian
High Renaissance
painter Lorenzo Lotto
, dating to c. 1506. It is housed in the Accademia Carrara
of Bergamo
, northern Italy
.
The work is known since 1882, when the Accademia acquired it from a private collection. The subject was identified later, after the charade
included in it was recognized: the moon in the upper left background contains the inscription "CI", which, in Italian, translates as "CI in Luna", e.g. "LuCIna"; the Brembati coat of arms is instead contained in ring of the woman's left forefinger.
Working differently from the idealized portraits Titian
and Palma the Elder had made widespread in Venice, Lotto used a more realistic approach: this is shown is details such as the asymmetric face, the weighty chin, and the sharp nose. In this he followed the local tradition of painters such as Cavazzola
.
According to some scholars, the man touching the womb would be an allusion to the character's pregnancy state. The dead weasel would also be symbolize the defeat of a presage of disgrace for pregnant woman. According to other scholars, the weasel would symbolize marital fidelity. The background includes a heavy red brocade drapery with a night sky.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
painter Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...
, dating to c. 1506. It is housed in the Accademia Carrara
Accademia Carrara
The Accademia Carrara is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, Italy.-History:The origins of the art gallery lie with the Count Giacomo Carrara, a wealthy collector and patron of the arts, who left a generous legacy to the city of Bergamo at the end of the 18th century.After the...
of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
.
The work is known since 1882, when the Accademia acquired it from a private collection. The subject was identified later, after the charade
Charade
Charade is a 1963 American film directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The movie also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin...
included in it was recognized: the moon in the upper left background contains the inscription "CI", which, in Italian, translates as "CI in Luna", e.g. "LuCIna"; the Brembati coat of arms is instead contained in ring of the woman's left forefinger.
Description
The painting is a bust portrait, with the face slightly from three-quarters. Lucina wears rich clothes with gilt ribbons and shell-shaped embroideries, as well as several jewels including a necklace of pearls, and another with a horn-shaped pendant, which at the time was used as a toothpick.Working differently from the idealized portraits Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
and Palma the Elder had made widespread in Venice, Lotto used a more realistic approach: this is shown is details such as the asymmetric face, the weighty chin, and the sharp nose. In this he followed the local tradition of painters such as Cavazzola
Cavazzola
Paolo Moranda Cavazzola was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in his hometown of Verona. He appears to have been a pupil of one of the brothers Morone, likely Francesco Morone. He painted in a style resembling that of Giorgione....
.
According to some scholars, the man touching the womb would be an allusion to the character's pregnancy state. The dead weasel would also be symbolize the defeat of a presage of disgrace for pregnant woman. According to other scholars, the weasel would symbolize marital fidelity. The background includes a heavy red brocade drapery with a night sky.