Christ And The Adulteress, Workshop Of Lorenzo Lotto (venice, 1480 - Loreto, 1556/1557)

Workshop of Lorenzo Lotto (Venice, 1480 - Loreto, 1556/1557)
Attributed to Durante Nobili or di Nobile (Caldarola, 1509/1510 - Montolmo, before 1593)

Christ and the Adulteress

Second half of the 16th century

Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 104 x 135 cm./ Framed 130 x 158 cm.

Provenance: Tuscan private collection

Expertise of Prof. Emilio Negro (Bologna)

We share this valuable work of great collector's value, an oil on canvas painting of the famous ‘Christ and the Adulteress’ painted in numerous versions by Lorenzo Lotto between 1527 and 1529, of which there are at least two autographs, one preserved in the Museo Pontificio Antico Tesoro della Santa Casa di Loreto (imm.1, canvas, 105 x 132 cm), the other in the Louvre Museum in Paris (canvas, 124 x 156 cm), as well as others attributed to the workshop, such as the one in the Galleria Spada in Rome (imm.2, canvas, 104 × 131 cm), very similar to our work.

Lorenzo Lotto chooses in his composition to depart from the usual iconography of the Gospel episode (John 8:1-6), dwelling on the moment of reflection that preceded the famous passage: ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone’.

The unclothed woman, caught in flagrante delicto of adultery, taken by the hair is brought before Christ to dispute the penalty of stoning imposed on the sinner by the law of Moses. The latter, irradiated by the whiteness of the light that the painter casts on her flesh, appears beautiful and elegant, if visibly suffering, surrounded by the morbid wickedness of the crowd.

The solemn and hieratic figure of Christ is placed in the centre of the canvas, expressing himself through his own firm gestures, with his right arm raised to interdict the arrogant human chatter, and as if he wanted to protect the woman, while with his left hand he expresses the inverted sign of blessing, with his fingers pointing downwards.

The firmness of his figure, with its penetrating gaze, invites one to associate the humiliation of the adulteress with the future suffering of the one who offers himself as a sacrifice for the sins of men;

Among the bystanders, on the left, one can distinguish, from the peculiar headgear and the physiognomic accentuation of somatic features, a group of Pharisees, among whom stands out a richly dressed old man, caught in the gesture of ‘disputatio’, emphatically listing the faults of the woman. It is interesting to note how, in the gestures and theatricality of the characters, as well as in the invention of the figures compressed into the foreground, there is a re-evocation of Leonardesque and Nordic models, from Durer to Cranach.

Having analysed the details of the iconography, let us now turn to the style of execution that reveals the undoubted and close relationship with that of the great Venetian master. In particular, it reveals the modus operandi of one of his main pupils, namely that of Durante di Nobile or Nobili (Caldarola, 1509/ 1510-4 Montolmo, before 1593), his close collaborator at the time of his important stay in the Marche.

Nobili's professional relations with Lorenzo Lotto are documented from 1548 onwards, with numerous instances of four-handed collaborations to satisfy requests from monastic orders and the aristocracy of the more secluded papal province. Among the many works produced together with the Venetian master, we can name the Assumption for S.Francesco alle Scale in Ancona and the decoration of the frame of a lost S.Girolamo painted for Cardinal Pio da Carpi.

The fame he acquired with his painting then also allowed him an excellent independent career, which we can place between 1562 and 1570, although the warm chromatic intonation of this ‘Christ and the Adulteress’ allows us to attribute it to Nobili in credible collaboration with the great lagoon painter, as a comparison with his production shows, in which he was able to infuse a creative intensity of good evocative and psychological force, even in the observance of Lotto.

Imm.1: Lorenzo Lotto, Christ and the Adulteress, Museo - Antico Tesoro Santa Casa, Loreto
URL: https://lorenzolottomarche.it/itinerario/loreto/cristo-e-ladultera-1548-1550
Imm.2: Lorenzo Lotto (anonymous workshop), Christ and the Adulteress - Galleria Spada, Rome
URL: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/49665/Anonimo%20sec.%20XVI%2C%20Cristo%20e%20l...


N ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work sold is completed by a beautiful frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.

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