Raising of Lazarus 1480 - 1556

Lorenzo Lotto made this pen and brown ink drawing titled "Raising of Lazarus" in Italy, around the first half of the 16th century. Lotto's focus on the figure of Christ and the reactions of those witnessing the miracle invite us to reflect on faith, doubt, and the power of the divine. But how might these concepts have resonated within the complex social and religious context of Renaissance Italy? The cultural references and historical associations of the scene would have been immediately recognizable to Lotto's contemporaries. This was a society undergoing profound transformations brought about by the Reformation, the rise of humanism, and evolving relationships between religious and secular authority. Religious art at this time was caught between conservative and progressive impulses, and subject to intense scrutiny from the church. To better understand Lotto's world, historians consult a wide range of sources, including religious texts, letters, and documents from the period. Ultimately, this image reminds us that the meaning of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.