Bellini, Titian, and Lotto : North Italian Paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

The Accademia Carrara of Bergamo is one of Italy's premier paintings galleries but remains little known outside that country. It grew from the civic-minded vision of three great collectors, beginning with Count Giacomo Carrara, who founded the institution in the late 18th century, and continuing with the great connoisseur Giovanni Morelli. The catalogue focuses on fifteen superlative North Italian paintings from the Accademia's collection, all dating from 1450 to 1550, including Giovanni Bellini's haunting Pieta, the predella panels from Lorenzo Lotto's celebrated Martinengo Altarpiece, and Orpheus and Eurydice, a tour de force of Titian's early career. Essays illuminate the importance and influence of the Accademia Carrara, which have extended far beyond Bergamo's borders.

Andrea Bayer is curator in the Department of European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Maria Cristina Rodeschini is director of the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.