Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi

Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi, 1505

oil on panel
Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples

This candid portrait, with its "warts and all" realism, depicts the newly appointed bishop of Treviso, Lotto's first important patron. An outsider from Parma, de' Rossi instituted ecclesiastical reforms that brought him into conflict with local authorities. He had survived an assassination attempt not long before Lotto painted him. The bishop's penetrating gaze and clenched fist suggest his firm resolve.

The painting Allegory of Virtue and Vice once served as a protective cover that slid inside the original frame of the portrait.