Lorenzo Lotto

Lorenzo Lotto was born in Venice, where he trained as an artist. However, he was distanced from other Italian artists by his style of painting, which was viewed as unfashionable in an age dominated by the two great Venetian painters, Titian (c. 1488-1576) and Tintoretto (1518-94). Lotto was a unique artist, with a vision that enabled him to create remarkable paintings which have a contemporary resonance today. His realistic and empathetic works, filled with distinctive sharp lines and vivid colors, lean towards Flemish art rather than Venetian.

Consequently, during his lifetime Lotto did not achieve the level of success that his accomplished and emotive paintings deserved; he died penniless, having joined a religious order in 1554. For centuries Lotto remained largely ignored by art critics, and it was only in the twentieth century that his reputation was restored.

Husband and Wife
c. 1543
Oil on canvas
38 x 45 1/2 in. (96 x 116 cm)
Hermitage, St Petersburg

Lotto's most successful paintings were portraits. The Portrait of a Married Couple is a fine example of his vivid style, not least for its depiction of symbolic objects such as the squirrel and the sheet of paper with the inscription that reads "Man not animal". Lotto's penchant for including symbolic references in his paintings has led some to describe him as a forerunner to the Surrealists.

- From "Essential History of Art"

Paolo Veronese

The Wedding at Cana, 1562-1563

PAOLO CALIARI was born in Verona, hence he was known by the name Veronese. He studied with Antonio Badile while living in Verona, before moving to Venice in about 1553. With Titian and Tintoretto, Veronese dominated the Venetian art scene. His use of color differed from that of other painters of the Venetian school, and hints of his training in Verona can be seen in his distinctive yet harmonious coloring.

Veronese often painted religious scenes, placing them in an incongruous Venetian setting with the saints dressed in finery and jewels. Although he was censored for this decorative element which some viewed as sacrilegious, it enabled him to portray the splendor of life in the rich and triumphant city state of Venice.

During the early years of his career in Venice, Veronese painted frescoes for the great architect Sanmicheli. As a result, many of his works convey a lasting impression of the detail of architecture, including The Marriage Feast at Cana, where the feast takes place against a magnificent backdrop of sweeping Classical colonnades. The architectural setting intensifies the illusion that the painting is a scene from a play - sixteenth-century theaters often had two such flanking flights of stairs. Veronese has included a self portrait of himself playing the viola da braccio; beside him are fellow artists Titian and Tintoretto.

- From Kirsten Bradbury, "Essential History of Art"