Portrait of Laura da Pola, wife of Febo da Brescia 1543

Editor: This is Lorenzo Lotto’s "Portrait of Laura da Pola, wife of Febo da Brescia," painted in 1543. I'm immediately struck by the formality of it, but there's something slightly unsettling about her gaze. It’s as though she’s aware she’s being observed. What social context illuminates this piece for you? Curator: That unsettling gaze, as you say, is quite intentional. We have to consider the socio-political context. Italian Renaissance portraits were frequently about projecting status, but increasingly they are becoming about the character, albeit as dictated by their family or commissioner, within prescribed social expectations. What message is she, or more precisely, her family attempting to convey? Editor: The wealth, obviously, from her clothes and jewels. The pearl necklace and gold embroidery are stunning. What's she holding? Is that a small book? Curator: Yes, and what does that suggest about her, and more generally, about how women of the era wished to be portrayed? Also, consider what other items might be intended to suggest, like that lavish looking feather fan, held casually in her left hand. Editor: I suppose, she’s shown as both wealthy and literate. A woman of substance, not merely an object of beauty, which maybe accounts for the direct, slightly challenging look? Do you think the slightly harsh realism adds to that impression? Curator: Precisely. Lotto moved away from idealization. This is a powerful statement, orchestrated by those seeking to broadcast their rise in Brescia’s merchant society, using Laura's image as a crucial, and calculating, projection. Editor: I never would have considered the social message embedded within the portrait. Thank you! Curator: And I am struck by your astute observation of her gaze; so many people simply observe such details, unaware of how powerful even minor attributes such as these might convey on a symbolic, societal level.