Portrait of an Elderly Gentleman with Gloves (Liberale da Pinedel?)

Lorenzo Lotto (Venice 1480 – Loreto 1557) was one of the leading figures of the Italian Renaissance; he worked mainly in Venice, Bergamo, and the Marche region, devoting himself to both sacred and portrait painting. The artist, who was never a court portraitist, had bishops, soldiers, merchants, wealthy artisans and professionals among his patrons.

The identity of the effigy, still uncertain, probably corresponds to the Treviso notary Liberale da Pinedel (1495-1548). The canvas was made around 1543, when the mature painter had assimilated and elaborated some stylistic, compositional, and technical aspects of the most famous portrait painter of his time, Titian Vecellio.

Critics are unanimous in considering this painting one of the best portraits executed by Lorenzo Lotto in terms of quality and expressiveness, as well as one of the masterpieces of the genre for the time.
The work was acquired by the Pinacoteca in 1859.

The canvas has been in the Transparent Restoration Laboratory in Room XVIII (fig. 2) since February 2019, where the current intervention can be seen.
Prior to the restoration, the painting underwent a thorough photographic and diagnostic campaign (figs. 3, 4), including diffuse and grazing light shots, macrophotographs and microscope photographs, infrared reflectography (IRR), infrared false color (IRFC), ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), and reflectance spectrometry (Vis-RS). The results and direct observations of the work provided a deeper understanding of the artist’s technique, allowing each phase of the restoration work to be set up.

Then the artist set up the composition of the portrait from life, drawing directly on the light surface with a thin brush. In infrared (IRR) images, it is possible to read at high magnifications minute traces of the underlying drawing, such as the faint lines noted at the mouth and eyes (fig. 6).

The oil paint layering is fluid and thin, with more prominent brush strokes at the highlights and transparent glazes for the play of blacks and browns that characterizes the robe (fig. 7).

Previous restoration and state of preservation

The painting was restored several times before it entered the museum. One major intervention included lining the canvas and replacing the frame, the functionality of which needs to be verified as the canvas appears slightly deformed. Some altered retouching is visible, concentrated along the perimeter and at a previous tear in the support. Small color falls and abrasions are visible in the central area and along the edges. A protective varnish, highly fluorescent in UV light, now appears yellowed, dulled, and uneven due to previous partial cleaning at the face and jacket lapels (figs. 3, 8).

Restoration work

The cleaning followed criteria of gradualness, selectivity and controllability of applications, and included the removal of layers of surface deposits and the thinning of varnishes, non-original patinas and retouches that are now altered.
Currently, the cleaning is finished, and from the comparison with the image before the restoration, it is possible to appreciate the recovery of legibility of the image, the variety of tones and textural effects of the dress and flesh tones.