'Lorenzo Lotto Portraits' at the National Gallery

The new exhibition at the National Gallery is a collection of portrait paintings by Lorenzo Lotto, a 16th Century Venetian painter. If you like old art then you'll probably have seen two of his paintings that are the biggies, and that's probably it. It certainly was for me. One portrait of a man and one of a woman and that was my total knowledge of Mr Lotto. Little did I know there was so much more to learn and admire.

His problem seems to have been when he was born that put him in competition with his Venetian rival, Titian. Lotto worked with Raphael to paint the Pope's apartments in the Vatican so that's no mean feat at all. He pioneered innovations in portraiture due to the influence on Northern European painters that kept him working for a while. But, ultimately, he was over-shadowed by Titian and faded into penury and obscurity. Which is a great shame. He had links with the Dominicans (which is usually a good thing for art) and died in 1556 after entering the Holy House at Loreto and living there for four years. In his will in 1546 he wrote, 'Art did not earn me what I spent.'

Lotto seems to have been a painter for the middle classes rather than the aristocracy the time so we see more homely portraits than those of power and vast wealth. His sitters were pretty well off to be able to afford a portrait and have somewhere to hang it, of course.

One of the first things that I noticed about his portraits were the hands, very expressive hands and often, almost photogenic in their realism. The portrait of Lucina Brembati (above) is a great example even though the photograph doesn't do it justice. The hands could almost be photographs stuck onto the canvas.

Another very noticeable portrait is the one of Andrea Odoni dated 1527, painted when Lotto was the peak of his powers and he's showing them off in this painting. Odoni was a collector of art and antiquities so he's surrounded by some of his collection including a small statue that he seems to be holding out to the viewer. Beside this painting are two small statues similar to those in the painting, which is a nice touch. It's a great painting.

A few years after painting the Odoni portrait he painted 'Portrait of a Woman Inspired by Lucretia', thought to be a portrait of Lucrezia Valier. In one hand the woman holds a drawing of Lucretia, a Roman woman who killed herself to save her honour after being raped, while the woman's other hand points to it. There's some odd morality going on in this painting but, at the same time, it's a portrait of a woman telling the viewer that she is in control of her situation. The rather sumptuous dress and the delicate head-dress tell us she was definitely monied.

The paintings in the final room of the exhibition are possibly the most interesting and insightful into their sitters. 'Brother Gregorio Belo of Vicenza' from 1547 is a really powerful portrait. His very realistic features, the clenched fist, the robe draped over his shoulders while he reads a sacred book with a vision of the Crucifixion in the background. Brother Gregorio was a Hieronymite or Poor Hermit of St Jerome who is trying to emulate his patron saint. The book in his hand has been identified and a copy of the book is in a glass case beside the painting - I really like these little touches that help bring the exhibition and paintings to life. On the other side of the room is full length gown in a similar style to one worn by a woman in the portrait beside it (the dress on display probably belonged to Grand Duchess Eleonora of Toledo).

A final portrait I want to mention is 'Portrait of a Man with a Felt Hat' from 1541. The painting is oil on paper which we're told was common at the time but few have survived over the centuries. I wonder who this man was and why he had his portrait painted? He looks a bit nervous and shy, his clothes are a bit dowdy - but presumably his best - and he looks a bit tired. This is a masterly portrait with different textures in the clothing and the lined face. It also does what I like about portraits, it makes you wonder who the sitter was, what they were thinking about and what happened to them. Has this man been persuaded to run for public office so needed a portrait to hang in the town hall or something? I wonder ...

The exhibition opens today (5 November) in the ground floor galleries of the National Gallery and entry is free. It's spread across four rooms and is well worth visiting when you have a spare hour. The exhibition was jointly organised by the National gallery and the Prado, so has a good provenance. I'll certainly be going back, it's a really good exhibition that has whetted my appetite to see more works by Lorenzo Lotto.