A Guest at the Palace | “Adoration of the Shepherds” by Lorenzo Lotto

05 September — 02 November 2014
Palazzo Cini. La Galleria, Venezia

Lorenzo Lotto, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1530, oil on canvas, 146 x 166 cm. Brescia, Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo.

The Guest at the Palace initiative, promoted by the Art History Institute of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, was created through collaborations with some of the most prestigious Italian and international museum institutions. Conceived to temporarily enrich the museum holdings of Galleria di Palazzo Cini, the project features the exhibition of particularly important artworks granted on extraordinary loan and hosted for several months in the historic residence of Vittorio Cini, which houses the masterpieces of his remarkable art collection.

From September 5 to November 2, 2014, the Galleria di Palazzo Cini hosted Adoration of the Shepherds by Lorenzo Lotto (Venice, c. 1480 – Loreto, 1556–1557), on loan from the Musei Civici di Brescia and considered one of the masterpieces of the artist’s mature period. The initiative was promoted by the Art History Institute in collaboration with Fondazione Brescia Musei and the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo.

The relationship established with the city of Brescia is rich in significance, as it was historically a place of encounter and exchange between Venetian and Lombard artistic cultures, as well as with its Pinacoteca, which preserves some of the most important examples of the great Lombard and Brescian painting tradition. The presence of the Adoration of the Shepherds at Palazzo Cini represented a stage in an ideal itinerary of Lorenzo Lotto’s works in Venice, connecting nearby institutions and sites such as the Gallerie dell’Accademia with the extraordinary Portrait of a Young Man, the Church of Santa Maria dei Carmini with the altarpiece depicting Saint Nicholas in Glory with Saints, and finally the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo with the other magnificent altarpiece representing The Alms of Saint Antoninus.

Adoration of the Shepherds

The painting Adoration of the Shepherds was acquired by Count Paolo Tosio in 1825 and is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Brescian collection.

Enclosed within a setting defined by simplified architectural lines, forming a shed-like stable compressed by shadows gathered in its recesses into a backdrop of pure geometry, the group of figures is arranged to express the theme of the Adoration of the Christ Child by Mary and the shepherds. Here, the image of the recognition of Christ’s divinity is combined with the older iconographic tradition of the Virgin of Humility.

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In the detail of Mary adoring the Child, kneeling on the very same moss-covered basket in which the Infant lies, one may perceive an allusion to the debate concerning Mary’s role as co-redeemer in the plan of eternal salvation — a central issue in the religious disputes surrounding Catholic reform and the Council of Trent. Joseph, portrayed as a protective father figure, occupies the background, from which the ox and the donkey emerge within the evening atmosphere.

Opening hours and admission

It is open every day (except Wednesdays) from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

All editions

May 24 – July 21, 2014

Portrait of a Young Man with a Lute by Agnolo Bronzino

September 5 – November 2, 2014

Adoration of the Shepherds by Lorenzo Lotto

June 17 – September 28, 2015

The Madonna of Pontassieve by Beato Angelico

September 19 – November 15, 2015

Capriccio with a Small Square by Francesco Guardi

April 8 – June 6, 2016