LOTTO, Lorenzo
(b. ca. 1480, Venezia, d. 1556, Loreto)

Susanna and the Elders

1517
Oil on wood, 66 x 50 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

The painting was executed in Bergamo, and it alloys the artist's Roman experiences and the naturalism of the Lombardian tradition.

The composition is characterized by its raised perspective and is divided in two by the brick wall, which seems almost to form a proscenium for the performance of a religious representation. The characters are arranged on the "stage" in dramatic poses, which, although perhaps somewhat strained and rhetorical, are undoubtedly effective.

The charming open landscape gives the composition a delightfully archaic quality - quite intentional - which serves to balance the dramatic impact of the scene in the foreground.

This painting comes from the Contini Bonacossi Collection which was acquired by the Uffizi Gallery in 1998.