Altar polyptych of San Bartolomeo, Bergamo, foot plate: Martyrdom of St. Stephen 1516

Editor: We are looking at “Martyrdom of St. Stephen,” an oil painting from 1516 by Lorenzo Lotto, part of an altarpiece located in Bergamo, Italy. It depicts, as you may guess, a rather brutal scene. I'm struck by how Lotto balances the chaotic violence with this serene background. What draws your eye in this composition? Curator: Ah, yes, balance. It's funny how horror, meticulously rendered, can almost become beautiful. This piece hums with the energy of its time - the Italian Renaissance in full, bloody bloom. For me, the theatrical arrangement pulls me in, everyone playing their part in this divine drama, right? Do you notice how Lotto leads our eye – from the executioner’s raised axe, across Stephen, down to that wonderfully absurd, terrified dog? Editor: Absurd is definitely the right word! It's like a freeze-frame of panic. And, yes, I see the lines pulling me right through the painting. It does have a staged feel, now that you mention it. Were these scenes, biblical or otherwise, commonly depicted in this way? Curator: Commonly depicted, perhaps. But Lotto brings an earthy, almost brutal, honesty to it all. The High Renaissance was obsessed with ideal forms. Lotto’s figures are muscular, straining, even awkward – like real people caught up in something terrible, not paragons of virtue meeting their fate. Think of how Caravaggio did something similar decades later. Can you feel that tension? Editor: I can, actually! I initially saw a strange juxtaposition, but now it feels more like the point. The serene and ideal meeting a gritty reality. Thanks for opening my eyes to the deeper context, it made a real difference in how I appreciated Lotto’s work here. Curator: The pleasure's all mine! Finding beauty, and meaning, in unexpected places, that’s what it is all about.