幼子・天使・聖人とともに玉座に座る聖母

Lotto signed and dated this altarpiece in 1521, and it still stands where he meant it to stand, on the altar of the church of San Bernardino in Bergamo, five centuries on. He was in the middle of his best years in that city, working for its churches and lay brotherhoods, and one such brotherhood, the Disciplinati, paid for this one. Above the Virgin, angels swoop in to hold up a green canopy, its cloth billowing as if caught in a draught. At the foot of the throne another small angel sits writing on a scroll and turns to look straight out at you, the one figure in the crowded scene who seems to notice you are there. The Christ Child stands upright on Mary's knee rather than lying cradled in her arms.