Madonna and Child with Saint Peter Martyr 1503

Lorenzo Lotto painted this panel depicting the Madonna and Child with Saint Peter Martyr in the early sixteenth century, using oil paints on wood. The smoothness of the paint application, combined with its capacity for rendering light, gives the scene an almost palpable quality. But consider too the economic structures that underpin this image. The pigments themselves were costly, made from minerals sourced from across the globe, each ground laboriously by hand. The wooden panel would have been prepared meticulously to ensure a smooth ground for the paint. Lotto himself would have been enmeshed in a network of patronage and workshop assistance; no artist of this period worked in isolation. Look closely and you’ll see Lotto’s skill in building up layers of color to create depth and texture, especially in the fabrics and skin tones. He uses light to draw our attention to the key figures, uniting the sacred and the earthly. Considering the materials and making of this painting reminds us that even the most seemingly ethereal works of art are rooted in earthly concerns.