Madonna of the Rosary (Lotto)

Madonna of the Rosary is a 1539 oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian artist Lorenzo Lotto, signed and dated below the Virgin Mary's feet ".L.LOTUS.MDXXXIX.".

It was commissioned by the Confraternity of the Rosary in the Italian town of Cingoli in the province of Macerata as an altarpiece for the church of San Domenico.

Saint Dominic kneels at the bottom left before the Madonna and Child – she hands him the crown of the rosary to combat heresy.

Behind Dominic are Mary Magdalene and a doctor saint (Thomas Aquinas or Vincenzo Ferrer), whilst behind Exuperantius are Catherine of Siena and Peter of Verona.

Each shows a scene from the life of Jesus or Mary, arranged in an ascending rhythm and representing the mysteries of the rosary.