Lorenzo Lotto (1480-56) was one of the finest Italian painters of his generation, but not so many people have heard of him because he was eclipsed by other more famous and more productive Venetian painters like Titian. But he created some marvelous works. Of his portraits this may be my favorite. It’s of a man, his identify unknown, sitting at a desk. What I’m showing here is the detail of the desk and the objects on it: rose petals, a lizard, a book, a folded piece of paper, a cap, a gold chain…. The book shows he’s learned, his clothing shows his wealth, his delicate hands his refinement and the fact he doesn’t work with them.