\paperw4695 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 Italian painter. \par
Although he probably trained under Giovanni Bellini, some of his early works show the influence of Antonello da
MessinaÆs meditation on light and the Venetian activity of Dⁿrer. The works following a visit to Rome display an abrupt change in style inspired by Raphael (\i Transfiguration\i0 , Recanati, Pinacoteca Comunale; \i Deposition\i0 , Jesi, Pinacoteca). The
dominant figure on the Bergamask scene until around 1525, Lotto developed a non-courtly, psychologically subtle language, leaning toward the Lombard tradition of naturalism (large altarpieces with the \i Madonna and Saints\i0 , Bergamo, Santo Spirito an
d San Bernardino). After trying in vain to establish a reputation in his native Venice, he directed his attention toward the Marche (\i Annunciation\i0 in Santa Maria sopra Mercanti at Recanati; \i Crucifixion\i0 at Monte San Giusto, Fermo). LottoÆs wo
rk, little known and appreciated in the past, has been reappraised by modern critics, who have recognized it as a genuine alternative to the courtly style of sixteenth-century classicism.
