The Martyrdom of Saint Alexander of Bergamo

c. 1524

Lorenzo Lotto

Associated Names
Lorenzo Lotto

Artist, Venetian, c. 1480 - 1556/1557

This is a drawing depicting military figures and landscapes. The artwork includes different sections showing various scenes: a group of figures conversing, armored figures on horseback, and a figure with a large spear. The background includes foliage, clouds, and distant structures. The drawing uses lines and shading to create depth and narrative related to military or historical events.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink over graphite; some corrections on horse's head with white gouache; squared with graphite; on two sheets joined vertically

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall (approximate): 27.2 × 19.9 cm (10 11/16 × 7 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1971.46.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection (sale, London, Christie's, 25 June 1968, no.77); to Lumley; (Hans M. Calmann [1899-1982], London); purchased by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1974

  • Venetian Drawings from American Collections, International Exhibitions Foundation, circulated to National Gallery of Art, Washington, and tour, 1974-1975, no. 12 (Terisio Pignatti).

  • NGA Recent Acquisitions 1974, no. 25 (as Martyrdom of Saint Alexander of Bergamo).

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 40-41.

1988

  • Italian Renaissance Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1988, no cat.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 15.

Bibliography

1974

  • Recent Acquistiions and Promised Gifts: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1974: 64-65.

  • Pignatti, Terisio. _ Venetian Drawings from American Collections_. Washingon, 1974: 11-12.

1975

  • Sutton, Denis. "Sunlight and Movement, Splendours of Venetian Draughtsmanship," Apollo (October 1974): 276-277, fig. 5.

1980

  • Rearick, William R. "Lorenzo Lotto: The Drawings, 1500-1525." In Lorenzo Lotto, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi per il V Centenario della Nascita. Pietro Zampetti and Vittorio Sgarbi, eds. Treviso, 1980: 30-31, 36, note 44, fig. 12.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 664, no. 1051, color repro.

1995

  • Béguin, Sylvie. "Lotto disegnatore," in Disegni Marchigiani dal Cinquecento al Settecento, Atti del Convegno "Il Disegno antico nelle Marche e dalle Marche", ed. Mario Di Giampaolo and Giulio Angelucci. Florence, 1995: 24, note 10

2001

  • Rearick, William R. Il disegno veneziano del Cinquecento. Milan, 2001: 87.

Watermarks

six petaled flower above a single circle, a better form of Briquet 3119 (Como 1478)

Wikidata ID

Q64593360

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