Marsilio Cassotti and His Bride Faustina

The painter depicts the couple with a Cupid placing a yoke on their shoulders, a clear reference to the duties that each party undertakes in marriage. Lotto’s source for the Cupid may have been a Roman stele that he could have seen while in Rome between 1519 and 1511. The stele was thought to represent the god Fidio, protector of truth; the image showed a man and a woman with right hands united, and behind and between them a young boy.

Stylistically, this composition is related to German models, showing Lotto’s vivid interest in art beyond the Alps.