Portrait of Andrea Odoni

Portrait of Andrea Odoni
Artist Lorenzo Lotto
Year 1527
Type Oil on canvas
Dimensions 104 cm × 116.6 cm (41 in × 45.9 in)
Location Royal Collection, London

The Portrait of Andrea Odoni is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto, dating to 1527. It is housed in the Royal Collection of Windsor Castle, London, United Kingdom.

History

The work is mentioned in 1532 by Marcantonio Michiel as part of Andrea Odoni's collection. It was also seen by the contemporary art biographer Giorgio Vasari, and it entered the English royal collection in 1660, having been bought at Amsterdam. In the past it has been attributed also to Titian and Correggio.

The style is typical of Lotto's Venetian period, with denser tones, a softer chromatic range and atmospheric effects at the boundaries.

Description

The horizontal format, which Lotto had already experimented for portraits of couples, in this case was adopted also for a single subject, a Humanist portrayed among his collection of antiques marbles. It has been however supposed that the pieces shown were not real, but, more likely, have a symbolic role alluding to the nature and the virtues of the subject.

The man sits next to a table, with a rich fur-lined jacket, and holds a statuette, which perhaps portrays a Diana of Ephesus. The hands touching the chest is a sentimental theme typical of Lotto's works. The tables has also a book and some ancient coins.

See also

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