Delphi Complete Works of Titian E-Book

Titian Titian

• Herausgeber: Delphi Classics
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Masters of Art
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 582

Beschreibung

The most prominent exponent of Venetian art, Titian was equally adept with portraits and landscapes, as well as mythological and religious subjects. His celebrated use of colour would exercise a profound influence on future generations of Western art. Delphi’s Masters of Art Series presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing digital readers to explore the works of great artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents Titian’s complete paintings in beautiful detail, with concise introductions, hundreds of high quality images and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)

* The complete paintings of Titian — over 200 paintings, fully indexed and arranged in chronological and alphabetical order
* Includes reproductions of rare works
* Features a special ‘Highlights’ section, with concise introductions to the masterpieces, giving valuable contextual information
* Enlarged ‘Detail’ images, allowing you to explore Titian’s celebrated works in detail, as seen in traditional art books
* Hundreds of images in stunning colour – highly recommended for viewing on tablets and smart phones or as a valuable reference tool on more conventional eReaders
* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the complete paintings
* Easily locate the paintings you want to view
* Features six biographical works – immerse yourself in Titian's world
* Scholarly ordering of plates into chronological order Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting e-Art books CONTENTS: The Highlights
A MAN WITH A QUILTED SLEEVE
PASTORAL CONCERT
NOLI ME TANGERE
FLORA
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN
BACCHUS AND ARIADNE
MAN WITH A GLOVE
MADONNA DI CA’ PESARO
PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V WITH A DOG
VENUS OF URBINO
PORTRAIT OF POPE PAUL III
EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V
VENUS AND ADONIS
DANAË AND THE SHOWER OF GOLD
THE DEATH OF ACTAEON
SELF-PORTRAIT
ALLEGORY OF PRUDENCE
TARQUINIUS AND LUCRETIA The Paintings
THE COMPLETE PAINTINGS
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PAINTINGS The Biographies
TIZIANO DA CADORE (TITIAN) by Giorgio Vasari
TITIAN by Estelle M. Hurll
TITIAN by Sarah K. Bolton
TITIAN by S. L. Bensusan
THE EARLIER WORK OF TITIAN by Sir Claude Phillips
THE LATER WORKS OF TITIAN by Sir Claude Phillips Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles

Leseprobe

Titian

(c. 1488-1576)

Contents

The Highlights

A MAN WITH A QUILTED SLEEVE

PASTORAL CONCERT

NOLI ME TANGERE

FLORA

ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN

BACCHUS AND ARIADNE

MAN WITH A GLOVE

MADONNA DI CA’ PESARO

PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V WITH A DOG

VENUS OF URBINO

PORTRAIT OF POPE PAUL III

EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V

VENUS AND ADONIS

DANAË AND THE SHOWER OF GOLD

THE DEATH OF ACTAEON

SELF-PORTRAIT

ALLEGORY OF PRUDENCE

TARQUINIUS AND LUCRETIA

The Paintings

THE COMPLETE PAINTINGS

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PAINTINGS

The Biographies

TIZIANO DA CADORE (TITIAN) by Giorgio Vasari

TITIAN by Estelle M. Hurll

TITIAN by Sarah K. Bolton

TITIAN by S. L. Bensusan

THE EARLIER WORK OF TITIAN by Sir Claude Phillips

THE LATER WORKS OF TITIAN by Sir Claude Phillips

© Delphi Classics 2015

Version 1

Masters of Art Series

Tiziano Vecelli

By Delphi Classics, 2015

COPYRIGHT

Masters of Art - Titian

First published in the United Kingdom in 2015 by Delphi Classics.

© Delphi Classics, 2015.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

Delphi Classics

is an imprint of

Delphi Publishing Ltd

Hastings, East Sussex

United Kingdom

Contact: [email protected]

www.delphiclassics.com

The Highlights

Titian was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno, Republic of Venice.

Titian’s reputed birthplace in Pieve di Cadore

THE HIGHLIGHTS

In this section, a sample of Titian’s most celebrated works is provided, with concise introductions, special ‘detail’ reproductions and additional biographical images.

A MAN WITH A QUILTED SLEEVE

Titian was the son of Gregorio Vecelli, the superintendent of Pieve di Cadore’s castle, and his wife Lucia. The artist’s father managed local mines for their owners and was also a distinguished councillor and soldier. Many of Titian’s relatives, including his well-known grandfather, were notaries and the family of four were well-established in an area ruled by the undisputed might of Venice.

At the approximate age of twelve, Titian and his brother Francesco were sent to an uncle in Venice to seek an apprenticeship with a painter. The minor painter Sebastian Zuccato, whose sons became well-known mosaicists, and who was likely a family friend, arranged for the brothers to enter the studio of the elderly Gentile Bellini, from which they later transferred to that of his brother Giovanni Bellini. At that time the Bellini brothers were the leading artists of Venice and Titian enjoyed working among a group of similar minded young men his own age, including Giovanni Palma da Serinalta, Lorenzo Lotto, Sebastiano Luciani and Giorgio da Castelfranco, who would later become famous as the artist Giorgione.

A Man with a Quilted Sleeve is one of the artist’s earliest surviving works, painted c. 1509 and described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568 as a portrait of the celebrated poet Ludovico Ariosto, though this is now believed to be incorrect, with the true identity of the sitter being assigned to Gerolamo Barbarigo, a thirty-year-old nobleman, whose numerous political and literary contacts would have helped launch the career of the aspiring young artist.

Held in London’s National Gallery, the portrait contains the letters “T. V.” on the parapet on which the sitter is leaning, confirming Titian’s initials, although they are similar in appearance to the mysterious “V. V.” in several works attributed to Giorgione, such as the Giustiniani Portrait or The Gentleman with a Book.

The portrait was part of Alfonso López’s collection and possibly also belonged to van Dyck at one point, after which it passed to an art dealer in Amsterdam in 1639. It was famous in the seventeenth century and served as a major influence to Rembrandt, whose 1634 self-portrait similarly presents a bold male, leaning on a ledge, allowing his rich and ornate clothing to take a prominent place in the portrait. Titian’s painting was probably purchased by Charles I, as a portrait of Ariosto was listed in a catalogue of his goods in 1644. It was in the collection of Lord Darnley at Cobham Hall by 1824 and in 1904 it was sold to Sir George Donaldson, who, after some negotiation, agreed to sell the piece to the National Gallery for the same price he had paid for it.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Rembrandt’s 1634 Self-Portrait, influenced by Titian’s great early work

PASTORAL CONCERT

Titian joined Giorgione as an assistant and it is believed their relationship involved a significant amount of rivalry. Distinguishing between their works at this period remains a subject of scholarly controversy and there has been a substantial movement of attributions from Giorgione to Titian in the twentieth century, with few alterations adjusted the other way. For example, one of the earliest known works of Titian, Christ Carrying the Cross in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, depicting the Ecce Homo scene was regarded as the work of Giorgione for a long period of time.

The two young masters were soon recognised as leaders of a new school of arte moderna, characterised by paintings that were more flexible and original, freed from symmetry and the remnants of hieratic conventions found in the works of the older Venetian Giovanni Bellini. The 1509 canvas, The Pastoral Concert, is a fine example of this style of painting and it has been assigned by some critics to Titian and by others to Giorgione, though most modern critics assign it to the former, due to the robustness of the figures, typical of Titian’s style. It has been argued that Giorgione, whose works feature musical elements and pastoral idleness, began the work, and then, after his untimely death in 1510, the canvas was completed by Titian.

The painting presents three young people on a lawn, playing together, while next to them a woman pours water from a marble basin. Both the women are naked, aside from two light vests; the two men are dressed in contemporary costumes. In the wide background is a shepherd and, among the vegetation, a far landscape. The painting may provide an allegory of poetry and music: the two women would be an imaginary apparition representing the ideal beauty, stemming from the two men’s ideal. The woman with the glass vase would be the muse of tragic poetry, while the other would represent pastoral poetry. Of the two playing men, the one with the lute would represent the exalted lyric poetry, the other being an ordinary lyricist, according to the distinction made by Aristotle in his Poetics. Another interpretation would suggest that the painting is an evocation of the four elements of the natural world (water, fire, earth and air) and their harmonic relationship.

The Pastoral Concert was owned by the Gonzaga family, perhaps inherited from Isabella d’Este, and later sold to Charles I of England and then to the French banker Eberhard Jabach, who in turn sold it to Louis XIV of France in 1671 and the canvas resides today in Paris’ Louvre.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Edouard Manet’s infamous ‘Le déjeuner sur l’herbe’ was inspired by a trip to the Louvre, where Manet saw Titian’s ‘The Pastoral Concert’ for the first time.

NOLI ME TANGERE

Completed c. 1514, this biblical painting concerns an episode in St John’s Gospel. Noli me tangere, Latin for “touch me not”, are words attributed to Christ in John 20:17, when Mary Magdalene recognises him after the Resurrection. The Bible also explains that Christ will soon ascend to heaven and send the Holy Spirit down to his followers, for which reason he does not want them to cling to his physical presence. The Noli me tangere scene became the subject of a long and continuous iconographic tradition in Christian art from late antiquity to the present day.

In Titian’s canvas, now housed in London’s National Gallery, Christ appears to the Mary after the Resurrection to comfort her. As she moves to touch his white shroud, he pulls the garment away, with a somewhat pained expression on his face, which is partly obscured with shadow. The Magdalene kneels down, glancing up at him in reverential wonder, while a deep rooted tree behind Christ mirrors her subservient pose. In the background, the walls of Jerusalem can be seen, though they too are given a darkened tinge. X-ray photographs have since revealed that Christ was originally painted wearing a gardener’s hat and turning away from Mary. The landscape was also significantly altered while the work was in progress.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Fra Bartolomeo’s 1506 version of the ‘Noli me tangere’ subject, which may have inspired Titian’s own interpretation.

FLORA

Held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, this celebrated 1515 painting presents the goddess Flora, a Sabine-derived goddess of flowers and of the season of spring, who was a popular symbol for nature and flowers for artists. Titian depicts her as an idealised beautiful woman, holding in her left hand a pink-shaded mantle, while she grasps a handful of flowers and leaves in her other hand. The same model was portrayed by Titian in numerous other works of the period, including the Woman at the Mirror, the Vanity and Salomé and Violante, as well as some Holy Conversations. The meaning of the painting is much disputed, with some identifying the woman as a courtesan, while others consider it to be a symbol of nuptial love.

The painting was reproduced in numerous sixteenth century etchings, quickly increasing the fame of the image. Later, the canvas had an unclear sequence of ownerships in Brussels and Vienna. In the seventeenth century, Flora was sold by the Spanish ambassador at Amsterdam to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and the painting was cited by Rembrandt in his Saskia Dressing as Flora of London and in two portraits in Dresden and New York. Later included in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, the canvas was one of the works exchanged with the Uffizi.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

‘Saskia as Flora’ by Rembrandt, 1634

ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN

The largest altarpiece in Venice, the Assumption of the Virgin is located on the high altar in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice and was the artist’s first major commission in the city. Breaking away from the traditional depiction of altarpieces, Titian’s heroic character scale and trademark use of dynamic colour helped establish him as Venice’s most in demand artist, following the completion of this monumental work in 1518. The Assumption of the Virgin is a religious event celebrated every year on August 15 and is a defined dogma of the Catholic Church, commemorating the rising of Mary to heaven before the decay of her body. It is a sign of her passing into eternal life and for this reason it is a holy day of obligation.

By placing the painting in a majestic marble frame, specially designed by the artist, surrounding light was prevented from entering from the sides, allowing the rich golden paint behind the Virgin and God to produce its own powerful sphere of light. Reportedly, an envoy to the Emperor Charles V was present at the unveiling ceremony and when asked by the uncertain Franciscans as to its quality, he urged them to sell the painting to him. Their minds were then settled and they held on dearly to the work and, in consequence, Titian’s reputation soared.

It has been suggested that the golden background is in homage to the tradition of Venetian mosaics, though Titian primarily used oil-ground paint, which was prepared by his assistants. The heroic figures of the composition and the grand size of the painting were uncommon at the time of the altarpiece’s completion. With such grand dimensions, Titian was able to showpiece his work from different standpoints, adopting the use of varying distances of viewpoints and angles to present the subject matter in an unorthodox manner.

The Assumption of the Virgin can be broken down into three different scenes, as represented by the dividing pictorial layers. In the lowest layer are the Apostles, shown in a variety of poses, ranging from gazing in awe, to kneeling and reaching for the skies. Their muscular and statuesque bodies indicate the influence of Michelangelo. In the centre, the Virgin Mary is drawn wrapped in a red robe and blue mantle. She is raised to the heavens by a swarm of cherubim, while standing on a cloud — this time signalling the influence of Raphael’s angels and putti. And finally above, draped in ethereal shade, God watches over the Earth, his hair lifted gently by the wind. Near the divinity, an angel flies, bearing a coronet with which to crown Mary, the linking figure to all three layers. The exuberant use of Venetian colour is the influence of Titian alone.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

The altarpiece in situ

BACCHUS AND ARIADNE

During his early thirties, Titian had established himself as the foremost artist of Venice and he started receiving important commissions from noble patrons. Alfonso d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, commissioned the artist to produce a cycle of paintings on mythological subjects for the Camerino d’Alabastro, a private room in the Duke’s palazzo in Ferrara, which was already decorated with paintings based on classical texts. An advance payment was given to Raphael, who originally held the commission for the subject of a Triumph of Bacchus. However, Raphael died unexpectedly in 1520, when only a preliminary drawing was completed and the commission was then handed to Titian. The series features four images: Bacchus and Ariadne; The Feast of the Gods; The Bacchanal of the Andrians and The Worship of Venus.

Housed in London’s National Gallery, Bacchus and Ariadne (1523) concerns events narrated by the Roman poets Catullus and Ovid. According to the mythological tale, Ariadne has been deserted on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus, whose ship can be seen in the canvas sailing away to the far left. She is discovered on the shore by the Bacchus, the god of wine, leading a procession of revellers in a chariot drawn by two cheetahs, which were most likely modelled on animals in the Duke’s menagerie. Bacchus is depicted in mid-air as he leaps out of the chariot to protect Ariadne from his beasts. In the sky above the figure of Ariadne, the star constellation Corona Borealis (Northern Crown) can be seen as a bridal gift.

The composition is divided diagonally into two triangles, one of a vivid blue sky, produced by the expensive ultramarine pigment, used to showcase the two central lovers prominently. The other half of the painting presents a riot of movement, fused with predominant tones of green and brown. Bacchus’ entourage is a dramatic depiction of Bacchanalian frenzy. One drunk has fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, while another carries a barrel. A frenzied reveller has torn apart a live cow and grips its dismembered leg, while the head has been cast aside into the foreground. The composition’s power is achieved by the frozen moment of time — a wild, drunken party suddenly stopped for our enjoyment.

The canvas was rolled up twice in the sixteenth century, which led to disastrous consequences for the painting. From the turn of the nineteenth century onwards, the painting has been frequently restored to stop paint from flaking off — the last and most controversial restoration being carried out at the National Gallery between 1967 and 1968. When discoloured varnish lying directly on top of the paint surface was removed, much of the paint itself came off and extensive repainting was necessary. This has caused some critics to note that the expanse of blue sky on the left-hand side, one of the worst affected areas of the painting, appears flat and pallid. Some believe the removal of the varnish has left the painting tonally out of balance, since Titian is likely to have added subtle glazes to the paint surface in order to tone down some of the more intense colours. The National Gallery maintains that this was an unavoidable loss, as the accrued layers of later varnish had turned the painting brown and ‘sludgy’ and so had to be removed.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Portrait of Alfonso I d’Este, from Titian’s studio — Alfonso d’Este (1476-1534) was the Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai, as well as a great patron of the arts.

Via Coperta today — the Camerini d’alabastro (little rooms of alabaster) are a range of rooms that formed the studiolo or little study of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.

One of the other canvases in the series: ‘The Bacchanal of the Andrians’, c.1526

MAN WITH A GLOVE

Completed in 1520, this confident portrait, housed in the Louvre, originates from the Gonzaga family’s collection at Mantua. It was acquired by Charles I of England in 1627 and, following his beheading in 1649, the painting was auctioned and bought by the French banker Eberhard Jabach. Eventually, it came into the possession of Louis XIV of France and was transferred from the Palace of Versailles to the Louvre in 1792.

The identity of the sitter has not been ascribed with certainty, though some believe he could be Girolamo Adorno, mentioned in a 1527 letter from Pietro Aretino to Federico Gonzaga, or Giambattista Malatesta, an agent of the Gonzaga in Venice. According to another hypothesis, he could be Ferrante Gonzaga, who was sixteen years old in 1523.

The portrait portrays a three-quarters view of a male figure set against a flat black background, acting as a foil to the fine colouration and depiction of skin tones of the young man. The sitter appears to be looking at an indefinite point to the left of the canvas, with his left arm on his knee. He is dressed in a wide jacket and a white shirt, in the fashionable style of the period. The man’s gloved left hand holds a second leather glove — an accessory used by the most refined gentlemen of the time. His right hand is adorned with a golden ring, a symbol of his wealth, and he also wears a necklace decorated with a sapphire and a pearl. The simplicity of the painting and its remarkable capturing of personality have established its fame among fellow artists, with such celebrated figures as Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Joshua Reynolds influenced by the portrait.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Self-Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, c.1630

MADONNA DI CA’ PESARO

Commissioned by Jacopo Pesaro, whose family acquired the chapel in the Frari Basilica of Venice in 1518, this famous altarpiece remains in its original setting till this day. Jacopo was Bishop of Paphos, in Cyprus, and had been named commander of the papal fleet by the Borgia Pope, Alexander VI. In the composition, Titian represents his patron in a devotional pose, kneeling before the Virgin, having been presented by Saint Peter. Prominently displayed on the step is Saint Peter’s key; its diagonal plane, leading toward the Virgin, providing a parallel to Jacopo. The Virgin’s position at the top of the steps alludes to her celestial role as Madonna della Scala (Madonna of the Stairs) and as the Stairway to Heaven. Titian actually used his wife, who died in childbirth soon after, as the model for the Virgin Mary in this work.

The large red banner to the far left prominently displays the papal arms in the centre with those of Jacopo below. Olive leaves, as a symbol of peace, can also be seen. An unidentified knight holds two prisoners in tow: a turbaned Turk and a Moor, probably a reference to Jacopo’s victory over the Turks in 1502. To the right of the image, Saint Francis of Assisi links the five kneeling Pesaro family members to Christ, suggesting that through his own route of identification with Christ salvation can be achieved.

The altarpiece is celebrated for its use of perspective, as the figures and architectural structures are tilted on an axis, using diagonal planes. The steps, surmounted by large columns, appearing to endlessly run up to the heavens, are thrust diagonally back into space. Infant angels appear on the cloud above, holding the Cross. The rear view of one angel is juxtaposed with the front view of the infant Christ, who turns playfully on Mary’s lap. The fabrics are characteristically rich and textured, giving Titian full scope for what was becoming his renowned use of colour. This attention to material textures is further enhanced by the variation of bright lights and dark accents in the sky. The light of Venice, sparkling in its waterways, assuredly influenced the painting’s colours.

Detail

Detail

Detail — the flag bearer in the top is believed to be a rare self-portrait

Detail

Detail

The ‘Madonna di Ca’ Pesaro’ in situ

PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V WITH A DOG

This portrait of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, accompanied with a hunting dog, was completed in 1533. It is a copy or reinterpretation of a portrait of the emperor painted the year before by Jakob Seisenegger. The original portrait was naturally depicted, but had not pleased its subject and so during a stay in Bologna in 1533, when Titian was visiting the city, Charles paid the artist 500 ducats to paint a new version.

Although Titian’s interpretation is similar to its predecessor, the second work transforms the composition, stylising Charles’ body by increasing the size of the fur wrap, while limiting the size of the doublet and raising the position of the eyes. Titian also lowers the horizon to create the impression that the emperor dominates the space. As Charles appears to approach the viewer, the space surrounding him has been emptied and simplified, with warmer and darker colours than in Seisenegger’s original.

Titian’s version was to later inspire Goya’s Charles IV in his Hunting Clothes (1799). Eventually the portrait passed from Charles to the Spanish royal collection, from which it passed into the present collection in Madrid’s Prado.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The original portrait by Jakob Seisenegger, 1532

A young Charles V by Bernard van Orley, Louvre, Paris — Charles V (1500-1558) was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 to 1556.

Charles IV of Spain by Francisco Goya, 1799, Royal Palace of Madrid

VENUS OF URBINO

One of the artist’s most enduring images, the Venus of Urbino was completed in 1538 and presents a nude young woman, identified as the goddess Venus, reclining on a couch or bed in the sumptuous surroundings of a Renaissance palace. Now housed in Florence’s Uffizi, the famous painting owes a great deal to Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus (c. 1510), as demonstrated by the similar poses of the female figures. In his depiction, Titian domesticates Venus by moving her to an indoor setting, making her sensuality explicit and allowing us to engage with her directly. She is illustrated without any of the typical attributes of the goddess usually employed by artists and the image triggers an unapologetically erotic charge. As Venus stares straight towards the viewer, unconcerned with her nudity, she grips in her right hand a posy of roses (representing the pleasure and constancy of love), while seductively covering her genitals with the other hand. In the near background, a dog is nestled into a ball asleep, serving as a symbol of fidelity.

The Venus of Urbino was commissioned by Guidobaldo II della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino, most likely to celebrate his marriage in 1534. Originally, the painting would have decorated a cassone, a chest given as a wedding present in Italy at the time. The maids depicted in the right background can be seen looking in a similar chest, apparently in search of Venus’ clothes. Intriguingly, given its overtly erotic content, the painting was intended as an instructive “model” for Giulia Varano, the Duke’s child bride. The servants in the background provide examples of how to keep an effective household, encouraging Giulia to be a dutiful wife. The model for the painting has been identified as Angela del Moro, a highly paid courtesan in Venice and a known dining companion of Titian.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

‘The Sleeping Venus’, also known as the ‘Dresden Venus’, by Giorgione, c. 1510, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

Édouard Manet’s infamous ‘Olympia’ (1863) was inspired by Titian’s painting

Guidobaldo II by Agnolo Bronzino. Guidobaldo II della Rovere (1514-1574) succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rovere and an important patron of the arts, commissioning the ‘Venus of Urbino’.

PORTRAIT OF POPE PAUL III

This portrait of Pope Paul III was produced during the Pope’s visit to Northern Italy. Pope Paul III (1468-1549) held the highest position in the Catholic Church from 13 October 1534 till his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527, which was fraught with uncertainties in the Catholic Church after the Protestant Reformation. During his pontificate, and in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, new Catholic religious orders and societies, such as the Jesuits, the Barnabites and the Congregation of the Oratory attracted a popular following. Pope Paul III is famous for convening the Council of Trent in 1545, as well as for being a significant patron of the arts.

The Pope’s artistic and architectural commissions were numerous and varied. Titian painted a portrait of him in 1543 (following plate) and in 1546, a well-known portrait of Paul III with his grandsons Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma followed. Both works are now held in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples. The individual portrait reveals the influence of Raphael’s Portrait ofPope Julius II (1511). However, unlike Raphael’s portrayal of a distant and ‘royal’ pope, Titian opts to present Pope Paul III in a much more personal manner. The only jewellery he wears is the official ring worn by all popes, while he looks directly out of the picture, contraverse to Raphael’s subject, as though about to question the viewer. Pope Paul III seems to silently appraise us, much like an inquisitor demanding a confession. The Pope’s eyes suggest an intelligent prowess, lending the portrait an engaging power.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Pope Julius II by Raphael, 1511, National Gallery, London

‘Pope Paul III and his Grandsons Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (left), and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (right), II Duke of Parma’ — a triple portrait by Titian, 1546

EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF CHARLES V

Completed in September 1548, when Titian was staying the imperial court of Augsburg, this equestrian portrait was presented to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, following his victory in the April 1547 Battle of Mühlberg against Protestant armies. The portrait is notable for its directness and sense of contained power, as the artist details the horse’s strength and the emperor’s robust armour, to convey an impression of the sitter’s heroic attributes. Titian delicately handles the emperor’s age and physical frailty, while establishing the sitter’s reputation as a forceful and determined leader. Reportedly, Titian sketched the entire foreground elements, including the horse, its caparison and the rider’s armour, from actual examples used in the battle.

The portrait was commissioned by Mary of Austria, Queen of Hungary, though Charles specified how he wished to be presented. The emperor was well aware of the importance of portraiture in determining how he was perceived by his subjects and he had come to develop a strong regard for Titian’s mastery in representing him as an effectual ruler. Charles also enjoyed Titian’s company, recognising the intelligent and quick-witted talent of the artist, who was humorous and good company. The artist had developed such a strong friendship with Charles by the time of this portrait that the emperor’s courtiers were uneasy regarding the lowly painter’s influence. To add to their frustration, while Titian resided in Augsburg, he was given an apartment close to Charles’ own and permitted easy access and frequent meetings with the emperor.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

VENUS AND ADONIS

Commissioned by the artist’s great patron, King Philip II of Spain, the following mythological plate formed part of a series of works called poesie (poems). Venus and Adonis was designed to be viewed alongside the artist’s Danaë and both works are currently in the same room of Madrid’s Museo del Prado. It is now believed that the canvas was in fact a replacement copy of an original that was damaged during its delivery to King Philip II. After replacing the damaged original, Titian went on to paint several more versions of the same subject.

Using the legend recounted by the Roman poet Ovid as his source text, Titian portrays a young Adonis accompanied by his hounds at dawn, leaving Venus, who desperately tries to prevent his departure. The scene symbolises the power of the hunt call, in turn a metaphor of life and of worldly affairs, which is stronger than that of love, embodied by Eros, glimpsed sleeping under trees on the left. In contrast to the later version in Rome, the background features a shining sun, emerging from the clouds in the overcast sky. The painting would have considerable influence on future depictions of the popular myth, with Rubens producing one of the most notable interpretations of the story.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Titian’s later interpretation of the same subject, now know as the Rome version

‘Venus and Adonis’ by Peter Paul Rubens, 1635, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

DANAË AND THE SHOWER OF GOLD

Between 1553 and 1556, Titian produced a series of at least five oil paintings based on the mythological princess Danaë, who, according to Ovid, was isolated in a bronze dungeon, after a prophecy that her firstborn would eventually kill her father. Although aware of the consequences, Danaë is later seduced and impregnated by the chief of the gods, Zeus, who appears to her in the form of a shower of gold. In medieval times, Danaë was regarded as a symbol of the corrupting effect of wealth, which could taint even feminine beauty or moral virtue.

In the following plate, the 1546 Madrid version, Zeus’ burst of light is represented as a showering of coins, on which Danaë’s languid gaze falls. The golden shower is flanked by dark clouds appearing to move towards the centre of the canvas, spilling heavy rain, which falls parallel to Zeus’ coins. An old woman, whose ugliness serves as a striking foil to the princess’ beauty, attends Danaë; though in other versions she is assisted by Eros. The greenish cast of the old woman’s skin is set against the pale hues of the younger woman. Sensuously, Danaë parts her lips in pleasure and the gold spills in a greater quantity than in other versions of the subject.

Titian’s first interpretation of the popular story, now held in Naples, was painted between 1544-46. He then completed two later versions on commission from the grand patron, Philip II, the King of Spain. Titian and his workshop would go on to produce several more versions, each varying in degrees. The dog resting at Danaë’s side is absent in some versions, while her companion is sometimes a god and in other canvasses a haggish nursemaid. Each version though represents Danaë as a voluptuous figure, with perfectly delineated flesh. The provocative image of the princess with her legs open and the left leg arched, has established the image’s famous status. Titian’s conception of the tale has influenced the works of many artists, including Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck and Gustav Klimt. According to the art historian Giorgio Vasari, when Michelangelo saw Titian’s original (Madrid version), he praised the artist’s use of colour, though he was critical of his draftsmanship.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The Naples version— ‘Danaë with Eros’, 1544, National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples

Correggio’s ‘Danaë’, 1531–1532

Gustav Klimt’s ‘Danaë’, 1907

THE DEATH OF ACTAEON

This late mythological painting is now housed in London’s National Gallery and has been identified as one of the two paintings that Titian recorded as having started and hoped to finish in a letter to Philip II of Spain, who commissioned it in 1559. However, most of the surviving work on the canvas has been dated to the mid 1560’s, suggesting that the artist was never quite satisfied with the piece, which some believe was left unfinished at the time of Titian’s death in 1576.

The scene presents a sequel to a previous painting of Titian’s, which concerns the Diana and Actaeon myth — this time narrating the story’s tragic conclusion.  Once again, the source material follows the Roman poet Ovid’s account in his Metamorphoses, telling how Actaeon surprised the goddess Diana bathing naked in the woods. When Diana transforms him into a stag, he is attacked and killed by his own hounds. Both paintings belong to a group of large-scale mythological paintings inspired by the Metamorphoses and referred to by Titian as his ‘poesie’ works.

Actaeon is presented in mid-transformation, his bottom half still formed of human legs, while the top half has taken on the form of a stag. Titian depicts the intensely dramatic moment when the hunter is no longer the master of the hounds, but is instead their helpless victim, as he stumbles back and they leap on to him. The composition is teemed with movement, conveyed through shape and colouring. The tones of the scene are naturalistic and greatly different from the more garish primary colours favoured by the artist in his younger years.  Now, the older Titian, advancing from his seventies into his eighties, uses colour itself to create the semblance of frenzied movement, as the trees, sky, hounds and tragic victim are all compounded into a patchwork of similar and conflicting colour tones.

The public campaign in 1971 to buy The Death Of Actaeon for the United Kingdom was one of the great successes of Martin Davies’s directorship of the National Gallery, when the canvas was eventually purchased in 1972, following a special grant and Art Fund and Pilgrim Trust contributions, as well as through funds raised by a public appeal.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The earlier painting in the series: ‘Diana and Actaeon’, National Gallery of Scotland, 1559

SELF-PORTRAIT

Housed in Madrid’s Museo del Prado, the following plate is one of the few self-portraits completed by the artist. The canvas reveals a man in his early seventies, realistically portrayed in an unflattering illustration of old age. We are presented with the image of a somewhat diffident subject, poised in profile, appearing in a contemplative, perhaps even dream-like state.  Remote and gaunt, staring into the middle distance, the artist appears lost in thought. Nevertheless, the portrait projects an air of dignity and authority, clearly indicating the sitter’s identity as a master painter.

Dressed in simple though expensive clothes, Titian can be seen in the lower left corner of the canvas holding a paintbrush. In a previous self-portrait, held in Berlin, Titian gives no indication of his profession; yet in the latter version, he appears unembarrassed to admit this. The painting is composed of gloomy shades of black and brown, with small touches of white around the artist’s face and hair. Due to the surrounding darkness and flat pictorial plane, we are drawn to the sitter’s sharp facial features.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Self-portrait (c. 1560–62), Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

ALLEGORY OF PRUDENCE

Dated to 1570 and housed in London’s National Gallery, this picture presents an unusual grouping of three human heads, each facing in different directions, above three animal heads, illustrating a wolf, lion and dog. The painting has been interpreted in numerous ways over the years. On a surface level, the different ages of the three human heads have been said to represent the ‘Three Ages of Man’ (youth, maturity and old age). The different directions in which they are facing reflect a second, wider concept of Time itself as having a past, present and future. This theme is repeated in the animal heads, which, according to some traditions, are associated with the categories of time. Another interpretation is provided from the barely visible inscription, EX PRAETERITO/PRAESENS PRUDENTER AGIT/NE FUTURA ACTIONẼ DETURPET (From the experience of the past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoil future actions), indicating that the image could be an allegory of prudence. Taking this view, Titian could be commenting on his own failure to act prudently in his youth and middle age, leading him to a regretful old age. Nevertheless, the artist enjoyed an immensely successful career, receiving countless commissions from the nobility of Europe and earning a mass fortune by his art. Whether this regret is due to events that occurred in the artist’s private life remains open to discussion.

It has been claimed that the models used for the portraits are members of Titian’s own family, with the aged artist taking the role of the old man himself, his son Orazio taking the role of ‘maturity’ and a young cousin, Marco Vecellio, who also lived and worked with the artist, personifying youth.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The National Gallery, London, which houses some of Titian’s most celebrated works

TARQUINIUS AND LUCRETIA

Completed by 1571 and inspired by a fresco by Giulio Romano, Tarquinius and Lucretia is one of Titian’s last paintings. The canvas was probably a commission for Philip II of Spain, as it remained in his successors’ collection until 1813, when the painting seems to have been taken to France by Joseph Bonaparte, after he gave up the Spanish throne. Following several private ownerships, it is now held at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Part myth, part history, the tale of Sextus Tarquinius and Lucretia is recounted by Ovid, as well as various other Latin authors. According to the legend, Tarquin, the last king of Rome, being engaged in the siege of Ardea, sent his son, Sextus Tarquinius, on a military errand to Collatia. Sextus was received with great hospitality at the governor’s mansion. Lucius’ wife, Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius, prefect of Rome, ensured that the king’s son was treated as became his rank, although her husband was away at the siege. One evening, Sextus entered her bedroom by stealth, quietly going around the slaves that were sleeping at her door. When she awoke, he identified himself and offered her two choices: she could submit to his sexual advances and become his wife and future queen, or he would kill her and one of her slaves and place the bodies together, claiming he had caught her in adultery. Lucretia is then raped by the king’s son.

According to Titian himself, he invested “more pains and skill in the invention of this picture” than in many of his other late works. In spite of certain weaknesses of anatomical form, the technical versatility and brilliant colouring demonstrate that the artist was still in command of his skills, in spite of passing his eightieth year.

The composition blatantly confronts the brutality of Tarquin’s act, as the tip of his tightly gripped dagger conspicuously catches the light. His sturdy knee breaks free of its breeches and thrusts itself between Lucretia’s splayed legs, increasing the sexual violence of the image. He leans into her with his vastly stronger weight, his left foot only just touching the ground, increasing the sense of frenetic motion in the scene, complemented by the swirling green curtain in the background and the blurred effect of the brushwork. The abject look of surprise and terror on Lucretia’s face is unmistakeable, as small tears glisten on her cheek. Notwithstanding, her status of victim, Titian’s Lucretia is emphatically voluptuous as well as vulnerable. Blonde and bejewelled, her body is pronounced with the artist’s telltale luminosity of soft and sensuous flesh.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

‘Tarquin and Lucretia’ by Giulio Romano, 1536

The Paintings

Titian’s long-term home on the Campo del Tiziano, Venice

THE COMPLETE PAINTINGS

Titian’s paintings are presented in chronological order, with an alphabetical table of contents following immediately after.

CONTENTS

Christ Carrying the Cross

A Man with a Quilted Sleeve

La Schiavona

Pastoral Concert

St. Mark Enthroned

The Jealous Husband

Miracle of the Irascible Son

Miracle of the Newborn Infant

Noli me tangere

The Three Ages of Man

Woman with a Mirror

The Gypsy Madonna

Balbi Holy Conversation

Salomé

Kirschenmadonna

Vanity

Flora

Violante

Sacred and Profane Love

The Tribute Money

Assumption of the Virgin

The Bacchanal of the Andrians

The Worship of Venus

Malchiostro Annunciation

Portrait of Vincenzo Mosti

Gozzi Altarpiece

Averoldi Polyptych

Centre panel of the Averoldi Polyptych

Venus Anadyomene

Bacchus and Ariadne

Man with a Glove

The Entombment

Pesaro Madonna

Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga

Madonna and Child with St. Catherine and a Rabbit

The Aldobrandini Madonna

Portrait of Charles V with a Dog

The Penitent Magdalene

The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple

Portrait of Isabella d’Este

Girl in a Fur

The Supper at Emmaus

La Bella

Portrait of A Young Woman With Feather Hat

Portrait of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga

Venus of Urbino

Portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo

Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti

Alfonso d’Avalos Addressing his Troops

Portrait of Clarissa Strozzi

The Crowning with Thorns

Portrait of a Young Englishman

Portrait of Ranuccio Farnese

Portrait of Pope Paul III

Ecce Homo

Cain Slaying Abel

David and Goliath

Portrait of Pietro Aretino

Pope Paul III and his Grandsons

Danaë

Portrait of the Vendramin Family

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V

Portrait of Charles V Seated

Portrait of Isabella of Portugal

Venus and Music

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen defeated by Charles V

The Punishment of Tythus

Sisyphus

Saint John the Almoner

The Fall of Man

Mater Dolorosa

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen

Venus and the Organ Player

Knight of Malta with a watch

Saint Jerome in Penitence

Portrait of Phillip II in Armour

Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo

La Gloria

Venus and Adonis

Mater Dolorosa with Open Hands

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

Perseus and Andromeda

Portrait of Queen Christina of Denmark

Venus with a Mirror

Diana and Actaeon

Crucifixion

The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

Diana and Callisto

The Entombment

The Rape of Europa

Annunciation

The Death of Actaeon

Salome

Self-Portrait

Venus and Adonis

Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria

The Tribute Money

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

The Penitent Magdalene

Allegory of Prudence

The Entombment

Self-Portrait

Portrait of Jacopo Strada

Tarquinius and Lucretia

Punishment of Marsyas

Nymph and Shepherd

Pietà

Christ Crowned with Thorns

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PAINTINGS

CONTENTS

A Man with a Quilted Sleeve

Alfonso d’Avalos Addressing his Troops

Allegory of Prudence

Annunciation

Assumption of the Virgin

Averoldi Polyptych

Bacchus and Ariadne

Balbi Holy Conversation

Cain Slaying Abel

Centre panel of the Averoldi Polyptych

Christ Carrying the Cross

Christ Crowned with Thorns

Crucifixion

Danaë

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

David and Goliath

Diana and Actaeon

Diana and Callisto

Ecce Homo

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V

Flora

Girl in a Fur

Gozzi Altarpiece

Kirschenmadonna

Knight of Malta with a watch

La Bella

La Gloria

La Schiavona

Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria

Madonna and Child with St. Catherine and a Rabbit

Malchiostro Annunciation

Man with a Glove

Mater Dolorosa

Mater Dolorosa with Open Hands

Miracle of the Irascible Son

Miracle of the Newborn Infant

Noli me tangere

Nymph and Shepherd

Pastoral Concert

Perseus and Andromeda

Pesaro Madonna

Pietà

Pope Paul III and his Grandsons

Portrait of a Young Englishman

Portrait of A Young Woman With Feather Hat

Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo

Portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo

Portrait of Charles V Seated

Portrait of Charles V with a Dog

Portrait of Clarissa Strozzi

Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti

Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga

Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga

Portrait of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

Portrait of Isabella d’Este

Portrait of Isabella of Portugal

Portrait of Jacopo Strada

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen defeated by Charles V

Portrait of Phillip II in Armour

Portrait of Pietro Aretino

Portrait of Pope Paul III

Portrait of Queen Christina of Denmark

Portrait of Ranuccio Farnese

Portrait of the Vendramin Family

Portrait of Vincenzo Mosti

Punishment of Marsyas

Sacred and Profane Love

Saint Jerome in Penitence

Saint John the Almoner

Salome

Salomé

Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

Sisyphus

St. Mark Enthroned

Tarquinius and Lucretia

The Aldobrandini Madonna

The Bacchanal of the Andrians

The Crowning with Thorns

The Death of Actaeon

The Entombment

The Entombment

The Entombment

The Fall of Man

The Gypsy Madonna

The Jealous Husband

The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

The Penitent Magdalene

The Penitent Magdalene

The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple

The Punishment of Tythus

The Rape of Europa

The Supper at Emmaus

The Three Ages of Man

The Tribute Money

The Tribute Money

The Worship of Venus

Vanity

Venus Anadyomene

Venus and Adonis

Venus and Adonis

Venus and Music

Venus and the Organ Player

Venus of Urbino

Venus with a Mirror

Violante

Woman with a Mirror

Christ Carrying the Cross

1505

68.2 × 88.3 cm

Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice. Also attributed to Giorgione.

A Man with a Quilted Sleeve

c. 1508–1510

81.2 × 66.3 cm

National Gallery, London

La Schiavona

c. 1509–1510

117 × 97 cm

National Gallery, London

Pastoral Concert

c. 1510

118 × 138 cm

Louvre, Paris. Also attributed to Giorgione.

St. Mark Enthroned

1510/11

218 × 149 cm

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

The Jealous Husband

1511

340 × 207 cm

Scuola di Sant’Antonio, Padua

Miracle of the Irascible Son

1511

340 × 207 cm

Scuola di Sant’Antonio, Padua

Miracle of the Newborn Infant

1511

340 × 355 cm

Scuola di Sant’Antonio, Padua

Noli me tangere

c. 1511–1515

109 × 91 cm

National Gallery, London

The Three Ages of Man

c. 1512

106 × 182 cm

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Woman with a Mirror

c. 1511–1515

96 × 76 cm

Louvre, Paris

The Gypsy Madonna

c. 1512

65.8 × 83.8 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Balbi Holy Conversation

c. 1512-1514

130 × 185 cm

Fondazione Magnani-Rocca, Traversetolo

Salomé

c. 1515

90 × 72 cm

Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Rome

Kirschenmadonna

c. 1515

81 × 99.5 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Vanity

c. 1515

97 × 81 cm

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Flora

c. 1515

79 × 63 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Violante

c. 1515–1516

64.5 × 51 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Sacred and Profane Love

c. 1515–1516

118 × 279 cm

Galleria Borghese, Rome

The Tribute Money

c. 1516

75 × 56 cm

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Assumption of the Virgin

c. 1516–1518

690 × 360 cm

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

The Bacchanal of the Andrians

c. 1518–1519

175 × 193 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Worship of Venus

1518–1520

172 × 175 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Malchiostro Annunciation

c. 1520

210 × 176 cm

Duomo, Treviso

Portrait of Vincenzo Mosti

c. 1520

85 × 67 cm

Galleria Palatina, Florence

Gozzi Altarpiece

1520

312 × 215 cm

Pinacoteca civica Francesco Podesti, Ancona

Averoldi Polyptych

c. 1520–1522

278 × 292 cm

Church of Santi Nazaro e Celso, Brescia

Centre panel of the Averoldi Polyptych

c. 1520–1522

278 × 122 cm

Santi Nazaro e Celso, Brescia

Venus Anadyomene

c. 1520

73.6 × 58.4 cm

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Bacchus and Ariadne

c. 1522–1523

175 × 190 cm

National Gallery, London

Man with a Glove

c. 1520–1523

100 × 89 cm

Louvre, Paris

The Entombment

c. 1523–1525

148 × 225 cm

Louvre, Paris

Pesaro Madonna

c. 1519–1526

478 × 268 cm

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga

c. 1525–1528

125 × 99 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Madonna and Child with St. Catherine and a Rabbit

1530

71 × 85 cm

Louvre, Paris

The Aldobrandini Madonna

c. 1532

100.6 × 142.2 cm

National Gallery, London

The Penitent Magdalene

c. 1531–1533

85 × 68 cm

Palazzo Pitti, Florence

The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple

c. 1534–1538

345 x 775 cm

Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice

Portrait of Isabella d’Este

c. 1534–1536

102 × 64 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Girl in a Fur

c. 1535

95 × 63 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Supper at Emmaus

c. 1535–1540

169 × 244 cm

Louvre, Paris

La Bella

1536

100 × 75 cm

Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Portrait of A Young Woman With Feather Hat

c. 1536

97 × 75 cm

Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg)

Portrait of Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

c. 1536–1538

114.3 × 100 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga

1538

114 × 102.2 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Venus of Urbino

1538

119 × 165 cm

Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo

1540

94.3 × 76.5 cm

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti

1540

133.3 × 103.2 cm

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Alfonso d’Avalos Addressing his Troops

c. 1540–1541

223 × 165 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Portrait of Clarissa Strozzi

1542

115 × 98 cm

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Crowning with Thorns

c. 1542–1544

303 × 180 cm

Louvre, Paris

Portrait of a Young Englishman

c. 1540–1545

111 × 93 cm

Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Portrait of Ranuccio Farnese

1542

89.7 × 73.6 cm

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Portrait of Pope Paul III

1543

108 × 80 cm

Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

Ecce Homo

1543

242 × 361 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Cain Slaying Abel

1543–44

292.1 × 280.0 cm

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

David and Goliath

1543–44

292.1 × 281.9 cm

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

Portrait of Pietro Aretino

c. 1545

98 × 78 cm

Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Pope Paul III and his Grandsons

1546

210 × 174 cm

Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

Danaë

1546

120 × 172 cm

Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

Portrait of the Vendramin Family

1547

206 × 301 cm

National Gallery, London

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V

1548

332 × 279 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Portrait of Charles V Seated

1548

205 × 122 cm

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Portrait of Isabella of Portugal

1548

117 × 93 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Venus and Music

1548

148 × 217 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid Johann Friedrich, Sachsen.jpg

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen defeated by Charles V

1548

129 × 93 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Punishment of Tythus

1549

253 × 217 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Sisyphus

1549

237 × 216 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Saint John the Almoner

c. 1549

229 × 156 cm

San Giovanni Elemosinario, Venice

The Fall of Man

c. 1550

240 × 186 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Mater Dolorosa

1550

68 × 61 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Portrait of Johann Friedrich von Sachsen

1550

103.5 × 83 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Venus and the Organ Player

c. 1550

115 × 280 cm

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Knight of Malta with a watch

c. 1550

122 × 101 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Saint Jerome in Penitence

1550–1560

255 × 125 cm

Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Portrait of Phillip II in Armour

1551

193 × 111 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo

1552

230 x 131 cm

São Paulo Museum of Art (São Paulo)

La Gloria

1551–1554

346 × 240 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Venus and Adonis

1553–1554

186 × 207 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Mater Dolorosa with Open Hands

1554

68 × 53 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

1554

128 × 178 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

1554

128 × 178 cm

Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Perseus and Andromeda

c. 1554–1556

179 × 197 cm

The Wallace Collection, London

Portrait of Queen Christina of Denmark

c. 1555–1556

112 × 83 cm

National Museum of Serbia, Belgrade

Venus with a Mirror

c. 1555

124.5 × 105.5 cm

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)

Diana and Actaeon

1556–1559

190.3 × 207 cm

National Gallery, London/ National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Crucifixion

1558

371 × 197 cm

Church of San Domenico, Ancona

The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence

1559

500 × 280 cm

I Gesuiti, Venice

Diana and Callisto

1559

187 × 205 cm

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Entombment

1559

137 × 175 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Rape of Europa

1559–1562

185 × 205 cm

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Annunciation

1559–1564

410 × 240 cm

San Salvador, Venice

The Death of Actaeon

c. 1559–1575

178.4 × 198.1 cm

National Gallery, London

Salome

c. 1560

87 × 80 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Self-Portrait

c. 1560–1562

96 × 72 cm

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Venus and Adonis

c. 1560

187 × 184 cm

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome

Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria

c. 1560

127.8 × 169.7 cm

(Bought by a private bidder on 28 January 2011)

The Tribute Money

c. 1560–1568

112.2 x 103.2 cm

National Gallery, London

Danaë and the Shower of Gold

1564

128 × 178 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Penitent Magdalene

c. 1565

118 × 97 cm

Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg)

Allegory of Prudence

c. 1565–1570

76.2 × 68.6 cm

National Gallery, London

The Entombment

1566

130 × 168 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Self-Portrait

c. 1567

86 × 65 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Portrait of Jacopo Strada

c. 1567–1568

125 × 95 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Tarquinius and Lucretia

c. 1570

193 × 143  cm

Musée des beaux-arts, Bordeaux

Punishment of Marsyas

c. 1570-1576

212 × 207 cm

National Museum, Kroměříž, Czech Republic

Nymph and Shepherd

c. 1570–1576

149.7 × 187 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Pietà

c. 1570–1576

351 × 389 cm

Accademia, Venice

Christ Crowned with Thorns

c. 1570–1576

280 × 181 cm

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

The Biographies

Self-Portrait, c. 1662

TIZIANO DA CADORE (TITIAN) by Giorgio Vasari

Translated by Gaston Du C. de Vere

TIZIANO: THE MADONNA OF THE CHERRIES(Vienna: Imperial Gallery, 180. Panel) 

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKS OF TIZIANO DA CADORE PAINTER

Tiziano was born at Cadore, a little township situated on the Piave and five miles distant from the pass of the Alps, in the year 1480, from the family of the Vecelli, one of the most noble in that place. At the age of ten, having a fine spirit and a lively intelligence, he was sent to Venice to the house of an uncle, an honoured citizen, who, perceiving the boy to be much inclined to painting, placed him with Gian Bellini, an excellent painter very famous at that time, as has been related. Under his discipline, attending to design, he soon showed that he was endowed by nature with all the gifts of intellect and judgment that are necessary for the art of painting; and since at that time Gian Bellini and the other painters of that country, from not being able to study ancient works, were much — nay, altogether — given to copying from the life whatever work they did, and that with a dry, crude, and laboured manner, Tiziano also for a time learned that method. But having come to about the year 1507, Giorgione da Castelfranco, not altogether liking that mode of working, began to give to his pictures more softness and greater relief, with a beautiful manner; nevertheless he used to set himself before living and natural objects and counterfeit them as well as he was able with colours, and paint them broadly with tints crude or soft according as the life demanded, without doing any drawing, holding it as certain that to paint with colours only, without the study of drawing on paper, was the true and best method of working, and the true design. For he did not perceive that for him who wishes to distribute his compositions and accommodate his inventions well, it is necessary that he should first put them down on paper in several different ways, in order to see how  the whole goes together, for the reason that the idea is not able to see or imagine the inventions perfectly within herself, if she does not reveal and demonstrate her conception to the eyes of the body, that these may assist her to form a good judgment. Besides which, it is necessary to give much study to the nude, if you wish to comprehend it well, which you will never do, nor is it possible, without having recourse to paper; and to keep always before you, while you paint, persons naked or draped, is no small restraint, whereas, when you have formed your hand by drawing on paper, you then come little by little with greater ease to carry your conceptions into execution, designing and painting together. And so, gaining practice in art, you make both manner and judgment perfect, doing away with the labour and effort wherewith those pictures were executed of which we have spoken above, not to mention that by drawing on paper, you come to fill the mind with beautiful conceptions, and learn to counterfeit all the objects of nature by memory, without having to keep them always before you or being obliged to conceal beneath the glamour of colouring the painful fruits of your ignorance of design, in the manner that was followed for many years by the Venetian painters, Giorgione, Palma, Pordenone, and others, who never saw Rome or any other works of absolute perfection.

ARIOSTO(After the painting by Tiziano. London: National Gallery, No. 1944)Mansell