Portrait of a Young Man With a Book 1527

Lorenzo Lotto created this small oil-on-panel painting of a young man in the early 16th century. Oil paint is a particularly interesting material. It allowed Lotto to build up layers of color and texture with remarkable precision. Notice the luminous quality of the young man's skin, achieved through careful blending and glazing, alongside the contrast of the striped fabric of his tunic. The very fine animal hairs of Lotto's brushes held the paint, and allowed the artist to build up minute detail, like the gold embroidery on the young man’s cap. Consider the social context of this kind of skilled labor. Lotto was a highly trained professional, working within a system of patronage and the art market. His ability to convincingly render different materials, from the heavy cloth to the delicate lace at the cuffs, would have signaled his mastery and attracted wealthy clients, eager to display their status through such portraits. Paying close attention to materials and making allows us to appreciate not only Lotto's skill, but also the social and economic forces at play in the creation of this captivating portrait.