RENAISSANCE PAINTING IN THE SOUTHERN MARCHES
- For Friends of the RA
- Explores the little cities in the hills and valleys of the southern Marches.
- Paintings by Crivelli and Lotto provide pegs around which the tour is planned.
Nearly everywhere hilly and in some parts mountainous, the Italian Marches remain difficult of access. The topography did not lead to poverty or cultural backwardness, however, and tucked away in churches and museums are many gems of mediaeval and Renaissance art.
Two painters in particular are associated with the area, Carlo Crivelli and Lorenzo Lotto. Crivelli (c. 1435–1494) was one of the greatest artists of the Early Renaissance. Within conservative conventions of gold backgrounds, low relief ornament and elaborate framing, he created an emotionally charged use of line, powerfully tactile detail, virtuosic use of perspective and intensity of expression.
Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480–1557) was similarly individualistic, and his works evince similar emotional power. Most of his long and peripatetic career was spent in small cities in the Venetian Empire and the Marches. While the major figures of Italian painting – Bellini, Raphael and Titian – provided the foundations of his style, he was also influenced by the angular expressiveness of German painting.