Titian and Lorenzo Lotto: From the History of Art Dialogue by the Example of the “Collector’s Portrait”

The article explores various aspects of the practice of collecting works of classical art in Renaissance Venice, as well as its influence on the content program formation of the so-called “Collector’s Portrait”, a typological kind of portraiture common in the art of the 16th century. The most interesting examples of it are the “Portrait of Andrea Odoni” by Lorenzo Lotto and the “Portrait of Jacopo Strada” by Titian, considered in this article. The study is relevant because of its connection with the research attention, outlined in recent decades, to the history of collecting, antique trade and the role of socio-economic factors in the development of art history. The article aims to investigate, on the basis of written sources, the matter of how the content of such paintings reflects the moral and ethical ideas about the meaning of antique collecting, as well as to identify its characteristic features on the Venetian grounds. One of the features was that a significant proportion of the artistic material in private collections was composed of works of Greek-Hellenistic art. The interest in collecting these works speaks about the special aesthetic predilections of collectors, their sensitivity to the actual artistic merits of antiques, and not only about their desire to possess antiquities. In addition, the practice of collecting was intended to express the moral virtues of the collector, the greatness of their spirit and the nobility of their thoughts. On the other hand, it served as an important way of social self-assertion for those who were not part of the exclusive elite of Venetian society (patricians), but sought to approach it in their social ambitions. First of all, the article is of interest to historians, art historians, culturologists, museum specialists and antique trade specialists.