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11Story
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Youth before a White Curtain. Lorenzo Lotto (1480–1556).
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The following is the English part of the label accompanying the original displayed in Vienna (emphases added):
At first glance the composition of this portrait is quite clear; nevertheless it includes intentional irritations with respect to form and content. Lotto emphasises everything that is uneven and a departure from the rules (the long nose, the wart on the young man’s face, the folds of the curtain, which seem to observe a natural law in contrast to that of gravity) as an artistic means of making visible something of the subjective peculiarities and effects of his portrait subject.
For the above label, idiosyncracy in subject (wart) and setting (curtain folds) do not simply record appearance more realistically than the ‘rules’ allow, but visualise subjective attributes. But there is no attempt to specify at length what the young man’s ‘subjective peculiarities and effects’ might be – nor how a peculiarity might differ from an effect - so it is impossible to say how successfully the artist has achieved his objective.
The painting is striking but does it owe its impact to Lotto’s skill in ‘making visible something’ of his subject or to its departure from the norms of the portraiture of his time, standardised products of which have become very familiar? How individual someone looks (or feels) is never just a private matter but depends on the social framing of individuality. |
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