Alms of Saint Anthoninus

The Alms of Saint Anthoninus is an oil on canvas by Lorenzo Lotto, dated around 1540, now in the Basilica of Saints John and Paul in Venice. It shows Archbishop Antoninus of Florence, who in 1442 founded a brotherhood to help the poor, handing out alms. The saint sits on a throne in the upper section, reading a scroll, perhaps a petition, while listening to two angels. Below him, two deacons look down from a balcony draped with a Persian carpet, and behind them a still life of mitre, crozier, bags and books. In the lower section an assistant takes coins from a purse as the needy, including widows, orphans and beggars rendered with striking realism, reach out their hands. One bearded man in a red robe has been suggested as a possible self-portrait of the painter. Rather than a documented historical event, the picture presents an ideal of orderly charity: the saint carefully reads each request, receives guidance, and then gives instructions. The layered arrangement and red curtain lend it a calm sense of order.

Painter

Lorenzo Lotto

Date

1540

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

332 × 235 cm

Museum

Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Movement

Venetian school

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Antoninus of Florence

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