Altar of Recanati polyptych, crowning the main board: Angel Pietà 1508

Lorenzo Lotto painted this Angel Pieta around 1506, using oil on wood. The medium dictates the appearance. The rich colors and smooth gradations of light and shadow are only possible thanks to the slow drying time of oil paint, allowing the artist to blend the pigments seamlessly. Consider the way the paint itself models the figures, giving weight and volume to Christ's body and the surrounding mourners. Lotto’s skilled application of oil paint allows for this intense emotionality, as he captures the softness of skin, and the sheen of fabric. This painting crowns a larger polyptych, a format common in the Renaissance. The skilled labor needed to produce these altarpieces involved not only Lotto, but also panel makers and framers. These highly crafted objects were designed for devotional purposes, but they also served as a testament to the economic power of the patrons who commissioned them. Looking at the materials and processes of making helps us to understand not only the artist’s skill, but also the social context in which the work was created. It bridges the traditional divide between art, craft, and commerce.