Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome and Nicholas of Tolentino

The vibrant colors and deep, atmospheric landscape of this painting are hallmarks of the painting of Lotto, a Venetian contemporary of Titian. The small coffin on which the Christ child sits foretells his death, as does the crucifix held by the weeping Saint Jerome. Meditation on the death of Christ was encouraged as a way of understanding Christ's suffering and man's redemption. Lotto's sensitivity to human emotion is evident in the expressions of the saints who flank the Virgin and Child.