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Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
( Venetian) painter of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in
Pieve di Cadore Pieve di Cadore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, about north of Venice and about northeast of Belluno. "Pieve" means "Parish church". It is the birthplace of the Italian painter Titian. ...
, near
Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region ...
. During his lifetime he was often called ''da Cadore'', 'from
Cadore Cadore (; lld, Ciadòre; vec, italic=yes, Cadór or, rarely, ''Cadòria''; german: italic=yes, Cadober or ''Kadober''; Sappada German: ''Kadour'';
', taken from his native region. Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the final line of
Dante's Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music. Dante's is housed in an unreinforced masonr ...
'' Paradiso''), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of colour, exercised a profound influence not only on painters of the late
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
, but on future generations of Western artists. His career was successful from the start, and he became sought after by patrons, initially from Venice and its possessions, then joined by the north Italian princes, and finally the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s and papacy. Along with
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
, he is considered a founder of the Venetian School of
Italian Renaissance painting Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...
. During the course of his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in colour. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone were without precedent in the history of
Western painting The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production, after ...
.


Biography


Early years

The exact time or date of Titian's birth is uncertain. When he was an old man he claimed in a letter to
Philip II, King of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, K ...
, to have been born in 1474, but this seems most unlikely.
Cecil Gould Cecil Hilton Monk Gould (24 May 1918 – 7 April 1994) was a British art historian and curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typicall ...
, The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, National Gallery Catalogues, p. 265, London, 1975,
Other writers contemporary to his old age give figures that would equate to birthdates between 1473 and after 1482. Most modern scholars believe a date between 1488 and 1490 is more likely, though his age at death being 99 had been accepted into the 20th century. He was the son of Gregorio Vecellio and his wife Lucia, of whom little is known. Gregorio was superintendent of the castle of Pieve di Cadore and managed local mines for their owners.David Jaffé (ed), Titian, The National Gallery Company/Yale, p. 11, London 2003, Gregorio was also a distinguished councilor and soldier. Many relatives, including Titian's grandfather, were
notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
, and the family were well-established in the area, which was ruled by Venice. At the age of about ten to twelve Titian and his brother Francesco (who perhaps followed later) were sent to an uncle in Venice to find an apprenticeship with a painter. The minor painter Sebastian Zuccato, whose sons became well-known
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
ists, and who may have been a family friend, arranged for the brothers to enter the studio of the elderly
Gentile Bellini Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 23 February 1507) was an Italian painter of the school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, and at least in the early part of his career was more highly regarded than his younger brother Giova ...
, from which they later transferred to that of his brother
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
. At that time the Bellinis, especially Giovanni, were the leading artists in the city. There Titian found a group of young men about his own age, among them Giovanni Palma da Serinalta,
Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Painting, painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school (art), Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He pain ...
, Sebastiano Luciani, and Giorgio da Castelfranco, nicknamed
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
.
Francesco Vecellio Francesco Vecellio (about 1475 – 1560) was a Venetian painter of the Italian Renaissance. He was the elder brother and close collaborator of the painter Tiziano Vecellio ("Titian"). Vecellio was born in Pieve di Cadore, in the Republic of V ...
, Titian's older brother, later became a painter of some note in Venice. A
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
of
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
on the Morosini Palace is said to have been one of Titian's earliest works. Others were the Bellini-esque so-called '' Gypsy Madonna'' in Vienna, and the ''Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth'' (from the convent of Sant'Andrea), now in the Accademia, Venice. ''
A Man with a Quilted Sleeve ''A Man with a Quilted Sleeve'' is a painting of about 1510 by the Venetian painter Titian in the National Gallery, London, measuring . Though the quality of the painting has always been praised, there has been much discussion as to the identit ...
'' is an early portrait, painted around 1509 and described by
Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
in 1568. Scholars long believed it depicted
Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
, but now think it is of Gerolamo Barbarigo.
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
borrowed the composition for his self-portraits. Titian joined Giorgione as an assistant, but many contemporary critics already found Titian's work more impressive—for example, in exterior frescoes (now almost totally destroyed) that they collaborated on for the
Fondaco dei Tedeschi The Fondaco dei Tedeschi ( Venetian: ''Fòntego dei Todeschi'', in literal English, "warehouse of the Germans") is a historic building in Venice, northern Italy, situated on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge. It was the headquarters and rest ...
(state-warehouse for the German merchants). Their relationship evidently contained a significant element of rivalry. Distinguishing between their work during this period remains a subject of scholarly controversy. A substantial number of attributions have moved from Giorgione to Titian in the 20th century, with little traffic the other way. One of the earliest known Titian works, ''
Christ Carrying the Cross Christ Carrying the Cross on his way to his crucifixion is an episode included in the Gospel of John, and a very common subject in art, especially in the fourteen Stations of the Cross, sets of which are now found in almost all Roman Catholic ...
'' in the
Scuola Grande di San Rocco The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a building in Venice, northern Italy. It is noted for its collection of paintings by Tintoretto and generally agreed to include some of his finest work. History The building is the seat of a confraternity establ ...
, depicting the '' Ecce Homo'' scene, was long regarded as by Giorgione. The two young masters were likewise recognized as the leaders of their new school of ''arte moderna'', which is characterized by paintings made more flexible, freed from symmetry and the remnants of hieratic conventions still found in the works of Giovanni Bellini. In 1507–1508, Giorgione was commissioned by the state to create frescoes on the re-erected Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Titian and
Morto da Feltre Morto da Feltre was an Italian painter of the Venetian school who worked at the close of the 15th century and beginning of the 16th. Biography His real name appears to have been Pietro Luzzo, Pietro LuciStefano Ticozzi ''Storia dei letterati e ...
worked along with him, and some fragments of paintings remain, probably by Giorgione. Some of their work is known, in part, through the engravings of
Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...
. After Giorgione's early death in 1510, Titian continued to paint Giorgionesque subjects for some time, though his style developed its own features, including bold and expressive brushwork. Titian's talent in fresco is shown in those he painted in 1511 at
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
in the
Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...
church and in the
Scuola del Santo The Scuola del Santo or Scoletta was the headquarters of the Archconfraternity of St Anthony of Padua. It overhangs the churchyard of Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, next door to the St. George's Oratory. The Confraternity built the ...
, some of which have been preserved, among them the ''Meeting at the Golden Gate'', and three scenes (''Miracoli di sant'Antonio'') from the life of St.
Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...
, The Miracle of the Jealous Husband, which depicts the ''Murder of a Young Woman by Her Husband'', ''A Child Testifying to Its Mother's Innocence'', and ''The Saint Healing the Young Man with a Broken Limb''. ''
The Resurrected Christ ''The Resurrected Christ'' is a c.1511-1512 oil on panel painting by Titian, now in the Uffizi in Florence with catalogue number 10093. It was acquired by that collection on 18 October 2001 and restored in 2001-2002. A print of the work was made ...
'' (Uffizi) also dates to 1511-1512. In 1512 Titian returned to Venice from Padua; in 1513 he obtained ''La Senseria'' (a profitable privilege much coveted by artists) in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. He became superintendent of the government works, especially charged with completing the paintings left unfinished by Giovanni Bellini in the hall of the great council in the ducal palace. He set up an atelier on the Grand Canal at S. Samuele, the precise site being now unknown. It was not until 1516, after the death of Giovanni Bellini, that he came into actual enjoyment of his patent. At the same time he entered an exclusive arrangement for painting. The patent yielded him a good annuity of 20 crowns and exempted him from certain taxes. In return, he was bound to paint likenesses of the successive
Doges A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...
of his time at the fixed price of eight crowns each. The actual number he painted was five.


Growth

During this period (1516–1530), which may be called the period of his mastery and maturity, the artist moved on from his early
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
sque style, undertook larger, more complex subjects, and for the first time attempted a monumental style. Giorgione died in 1510 and
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
in 1516, leaving Titian unrivaled in the Venetian School. For sixty years he was the undisputed master of Venetian painting. In 1516, he completed his famous masterpiece, the ''
Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic_Mariology#Dogmatic_teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and d ...
'', for the high altar of the
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...
, where it is still ''in situ''. This piece of colourism, executed on a grand scale rarely before seen in Italy, created a sensation. The
Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...
took note and observed that Titian was neglecting his work in the hall of the great council, but in 1516 he succeeded his master Giovanni Bellini in receiving a pension from the Senate. The pictorial structure of the ''Assumption''—that of uniting in the same composition two or three scenes superimposed on different levels, earth and heaven, the temporal and the infinite—was continued in a series of works such as the retable of San Domenico at
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
(1520), the retable of
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
(1522), and the retable of San Niccolò (1523), in the
Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
, each time attaining to a higher and more perfect conception. He finally reached a classic formula in the ''
Pesaro Madonna The ''Pesaro Madonna'' ( it, Pala Pesaro) (better known as the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro) is a painting by the late Italian Renaissance master Titian, commissioned by Jacopo Pesaro, whose family acquired in 1518 the chapel in the Frari Basilica in Ven ...
'', better known as the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro (c. 1519–1526), also for the Frari church. This is perhaps his most studied work, whose patiently developed plan is set forth with supreme display of order and freedom, originality and style. Here Titian gave a new conception of the traditional groups of donors and holy persons moving in aerial space, the plans and different degrees set in an architectural framework. Titian was then at the height of his fame, and towards 1521, following the production of a figure of St. Sebastian for the papal legate in Brescia (of which there are numerous replicas), purchasers pressed for his work. To this period belongs a more extraordinary work, ''The Death of St. Peter Martyr'' (1530), formerly in the Dominican Church of
San Zanipolo The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the fu ...
, and destroyed by an Austrian shell in 1867. Only copies and
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
s of this proto-
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
picture remain. It combined extreme violence and a landscape, mostly consisting of a great tree, that pressed into the scene and seems to accentuate the drama in a way that looks forward to the Baroque. The artist simultaneously continued a series of small Madonnas, which he placed amid beautiful landscapes, in the manner of genre pictures or poetic pastorals. The ''Virgin with the Rabbit'', in
The Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, is the finished type of these pictures. Another work of the same period, also in the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, is the ''Entombment''. This was also the period of the three large and famous mythological scenes for the ''
camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...
'' of Alfonso d'Este in
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, ''
The Bacchanal of the Andrians ''The Bacchanal of the Andrians'' or ''The Andrians'' is an oil painting by Titian. It is signed "TICIANUS F. ciebat and is dated to 1523–1526. History The painting was made by Titian for the Sala dei Baccanali in the Camerini d'alabastro f ...
'' and the ''Worship of Venus'' in the
Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
, and the ''
Bacchus and Ariadne ''Bacchus and Ariadne'' (1522–1523) is an oil painting by Titian. It is one of a cycle of paintings on mythological subjects produced for Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, for the Camerino d'Alabastro – a private room in his palazzo in ...
'' (1520–23) in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, "perhaps the most brilliant productions of the neo-pagan culture or "Alexandrianism" of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, many times imitated but never surpassed even by
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
himself." Finally this was the period when Titian composed the half-length figures and busts of young women, probably
courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...
s, such as ''
Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
'' of the
Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
, or ''
Woman with a Mirror ''Woman with a Mirror'' (french: La Femme au miroir) is a painting by Titian, dated to c. 1515 and now in the Musée du Louvre. History It is known to have been in the Gonzaga family's collection in Mantua from which it was bought by Charles ...
'' in the Louvre (th
scientific images of this painting
are available, with explanations, on the website of the French Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France).


Maturity

Titian's skill with colour is exemplified by his ''
Danaë In Greek mythology, Danaë (, ; ; , ) was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Family Danae was the daughter and only child of King Acris ...
'', one of several mythological paintings, or "poesie" ("poems") as the painter called them. This painting was done for Alessandro Farnese, but a later variant was produced for Philip II, for whom Titian painted many of his most important mythological paintings. Although Michelangelo adjudged this piece deficient from the point of view of drawing, Titian and his studio produced several versions for other patrons. Another famous painting is ''
Bacchus and Ariadne ''Bacchus and Ariadne'' (1522–1523) is an oil painting by Titian. It is one of a cycle of paintings on mythological subjects produced for Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, for the Camerino d'Alabastro – a private room in his palazzo in ...
'', depicting
Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...
, whose ship is shown in the distance and who has just left Ariadne at Naxos, when Bacchus arrives, jumping from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, and falling immediately in love with Ariadne. Bacchus raised her to heaven. Her constellation is shown in the sky. The painting belongs to a series commissioned from Bellini, Titian, and Dosso Dossi, for the
Camerino d'Alabastro The Camerini d'alabastro (''little rooms of alabaster'') are a range of rooms built over the Via Coperta in Ferrara, northern Italy, linking the Castello Estense to the Palazzo Ducale. They may have included the ''studiolo'' or little study of ...
(Alabaster Room) in the Ducal Palace,
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, by
Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso d'Este (21 July 1476 – 31 October 1534) was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai. Biography He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples and became duke on Ercole's death in ...
, who in 1510 even tried to commission
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
and
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
. During the next period (1530–1550), Titian developed the style introduced by his dramatic ''Death of St. Peter Martyr''. In 1538, the Venetian government, dissatisfied with Titian's neglect of his work for the ducal palace, ordered him to refund the money he had received, and
Il Pordenone Pordenone, Il Pordenone in Italian, is the byname of Giovanni Antonio de’ Sacchis (c. 1484 – 14 January 1539), an Italian Mannerist painter, loosely of the Venetian school. Vasari, his main biographer, wrongly identifies him as Giovann ...
, his rival of recent years, was installed in his place. However, at the end of a year Pordenone died, and Titian, who meanwhile applied himself diligently to painting in the hall the ''Battle of Cadore'', was reinstated. This major battle scene was lost—with many other major works by Venetian artists—in the 1577 fire that destroyed all the old pictures in the great chambers of the Doge's Palace. It depicted in life-size the moment when the Venetian general d'Alviano attacked the enemy, with horses and men crashing down into a stream. It was Titian's most important attempt at a tumultuous and heroic scene of movement to rival
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
's ''Battle of Constantine'', Michelangelo's equally ill-fated ''Battle of Cascina'', and
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
's ''The Battle of Anghiari'' (these last two unfinished). There remains only a poor, incomplete copy at the Uffizi, and a mediocre engraving by Fontana. The ''Speech of the Marquis del Vasto'' (Madrid, 1541) was also partly destroyed by fire. But this period of the master's work is still represented by the ''Presentation of the Blessed Virgin'' (Venice, 1539), one of his most popular canvasses, and by the ''Ecce Homo'' (
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, 1541). Despite its loss, the painting had a great influence on Bolognese art and Rubens, both in the handling of details and the general effect of horses, soldiers, lictors, powerful stirrings of crowds at the foot of a stairway, lit by torches with the flapping of banners against the sky. Less successful were the
pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points ...
s of the cupola at
Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the narr ...
(''Death of Abel'', ''Sacrifice of Abraham'', ''David and Goliath''). These violent scenes viewed in perspective from below were by their very nature in unfavourable situations. They were nevertheless much admired and imitated, Rubens among others applying this system to his forty ceilings (the sketches only remain) of the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
church at Antwerp. At this time also, during his visit to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, the artist began a series of reclining Venuses: ''The
Venus of Urbino The ''Venus of Urbino'' (also known as ''Reclining Venus'') is an oil painting by the Italian painter Titian, which seems to have been begun in 1532 or 1534, and was perhaps completed in 1534, but not sold until 1538. It depicts a nude young wom ...
'' of the Uffizi, ''Venus and Love'' at the same museum, '' Venus—and the Organ-Player'', Madrid, which shows the influence of contact with ancient sculpture.
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
had already dealt with the subject in his Dresden picture, finished by Titian, but here a purple drapery substituted for a landscape background changed, by its harmonious colouring, the whole meaning of the scene. From the beginning of his career, Titian was a masterful portrait-painter, in works like ''La Bella'' (Eleanora de Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, at the
Pitti Palace The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
). He painted the likenesses of princes, or Doges, cardinals or monks, and artists or writers. "...no other painter was so successful in extracting from each physiognomy so many traits at once characteristic and beautiful". Among portrait-painters Titian is compared to
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
and Velázquez, with the interior life of the former, and the clearness, certainty, and obviousness of the latter. These qualities show in the '' Portrait of Pope Paul III'' of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, or the sketch of the same '' Pope Paul III and his Grandsons'', the '' Portrait of Pietro Aretino'' of the Pitti Palace, the ''
Portrait of Isabella of Portugal The ''Portrait of Isabella of Portugal'' is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress by Titian dating to 1548. It was part of the Spanish royal collection and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Description T ...
'' (Madrid), and the series of
Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...
of the same museum, the ''Charles V with a Greyhound'' (1533), and especially the ''
Equestrian Portrait of Charles V ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'' (also ''Emperor Charles V on Horseback'' or ''Charles V at Mühlberg'') is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian. Created between April and September 1548 while Titian was at the i ...
'' (1548), an equestrian picture in a symphony of purples. This state portrait of Charles V (1548) at the
Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalka ...
established a new genre, that of the grand equestrian portrait. The composition is steeped both in the Roman tradition of
equestrian sculpture An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
and in the medieval representations of an ideal Christian knight, but the weary figure and face have a subtlety few such representations attempt. In 1532, after painting a portrait of the emperor Charles V in Bologna, he was made a Count Palatine and knight of the Golden Spur. His children were also made nobles of the Empire, which for a painter was an exceptional honor. As a matter of professional and worldly success, his position from about this time is regarded as equal only to that of
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
,
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
and, at a later date, Rubens. In 1540 he received a pension from d'Avalos, marquis del Vasto, and an annuity of 200 crowns (which was afterwards doubled) from Charles V from the treasury of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. Another source of profit, for he was always aware of money, was a contract obtained in 1542 for supplying grain to Cadore, where he visited almost every year and where he was both generous and influential. Titian had a favourite villa on the neighboring Manza Hill (in front of the church of
Castello Roganzuolo Castello Roganzuolo (''Castél'' in Venetian language) is a frazione of San Fior ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located on Conegliano hills (famous for productions of wine, especially prosecco) ...
) from which (it may be inferred) he made his chief observations of landscape form and effect. The so-called Titian's mill, constantly discernible in his studies, is at Collontola, near Belluno.R. F. Heath, ''Life of Titian'', p. 5. He visited Rome in 1546 and obtained the freedom of the city—his immediate predecessor in that honor having been
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
in 1537. He could at the same time have succeeded the painter
Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerism, Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian School (art), Venetian ...
in his lucrative office as holder of the piombo or Papal
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
, and he was prepared to take Holy Orders for the purpose; but the project lapsed through his being summoned away from Venice in 1547 to paint Charles V and others in
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
. He was there again in 1550, and executed the portrait of
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
, which was sent to England and was useful in Philip's suit for the hand of Queen Mary.


Final years

During the last twenty-six years of his life (1550–1576), Titian worked mainly for Philip II and as a portrait-painter. He became more self-critical, an insatiable perfectionist, keeping some pictures in his studio for ten years—returning to them and retouching them, constantly adding new expressions at once more refined, concise, and subtle. He also finished many copies that his pupils made of his earlier works. This caused problems of attribution and priority among versions of his works—which were also widely copied and faked outside his studio during his lifetime and afterwards. For Philip II, he painted a series of large mythological paintings known as the "poesie", mostly from
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, which scholars regard as among his greatest works. Thanks to the prudishness of Philip's successors, these were later mostly given as gifts, and only two remain in the Prado. Titian was producing religious works for Philip at the same time, some of which—the ones inside
Ribeira Palace Ribeira Palace (; pt, Paço da Ribeira) was the main residence of the Kings of Portugal, in Lisbon, for around 250 years. Its construction was ordered by King Manuel I of Portugal when he found the Royal Alcáçova of São Jorge unsuitable. The p ...
—are known to have been destroyed during the
1755 Lisbon Earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
. The "poesie" series contained the following works: * ''
Danaë In Greek mythology, Danaë (, ; ; , ) was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Family Danae was the daughter and only child of King Acris ...
'', sent to Philip in 1553, now in the Wellington Collection, with earlier and later versions * '' Venus and Adonis'', of which the earliest surviving version, delivered in 1554, is in the Prado, but several versions exist * ''
Perseus and Andromeda In Greek mythology, Andromeda (; grc, Ἀνδρομέδα, Androméda or , ''Andromédē'') is the daughter of the king of Aethiopia, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, Posei ...
'' (
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...
, now damaged) * ''
Diana and Actaeon The myth of Diana and Actaeon can be found in Ovid’s ''Metamorphoses''. The tale recounts the unfortunate fate of a young hunter named Actaeon, who was a grandson of Cadmus, and his encounter with chaste Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana ...
'', owned jointly by the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in London and the
National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by Wi ...
in Edinburgh * ''
Diana and Callisto ''Diana and Callisto'' is a painting completed between 1556 and 1559 by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. The paintin ...
'', were dispatched in 1559, owned jointly by the National Gallery and the National Gallery of Scotland * '' The Rape of Europa'' (Boston,
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was founded ...
), delivered in 1562 * ''
The Death of Actaeon ''The Death of Actaeon'' is a late work by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, painted in oil on canvas from about 1559 to his death in 1576 and now in the National Gallery in London. It is very probably one of the two paintings the artist st ...
'', now in the National Gallery in London, begun in 1559 but worked on for many years and never completed or delivered The poesie, except for ''
The Death of Actaeon ''The Death of Actaeon'' is a late work by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, painted in oil on canvas from about 1559 to his death in 1576 and now in the National Gallery in London. It is very probably one of the two paintings the artist st ...
'', were brought together for the first time in nearly 500 years in an exhibition in 2020 and 2021 that travelled from the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in London, to the
Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
in Madrid, to the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was founded ...
in Boston, where it closed on January 2, 2022. File:Tizian - Danae receiving the Golden Rain - Prado.jpg, ''Danaë'' File:Venus and Adonis by Titian.jpg, '' Venus and Adonis'' File:Titian - Diana and Actaeon - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Diana and Actaeon'' File:TitianDianaCallistoEdinburgh.jpg, ''
Diana and Callisto ''Diana and Callisto'' is a painting completed between 1556 and 1559 by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. The paintin ...
'' File:Perseo y Andrómeda, por Tiziano.jpg, ''
Perseus and Andromeda In Greek mythology, Andromeda (; grc, Ἀνδρομέδα, Androméda or , ''Andromédē'') is the daughter of the king of Aethiopia, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, Posei ...
'' File:Tizian 085.jpg, '' The Rape of Europa'' File:Titian - The Death of Actaeon - Google Art Project.jpg, ''
The Death of Actaeon ''The Death of Actaeon'' is a late work by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, painted in oil on canvas from about 1559 to his death in 1576 and now in the National Gallery in London. It is very probably one of the two paintings the artist st ...
''
Another painting that apparently remained in his studio at his death, and has been much less well known until recent decades, is the powerful, even "repellent" '' Flaying of Marsyas'' (
Kroměříž Kroměříž (; german: Kremsier) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Kroměříž Castle with castle gardens, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town centre with the c ...
,
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
). Another violent masterpiece is ''
Tarquin and Lucretia ''Tarquin and Lucretia'' is an oil painting by Titian completed in 1571, when the artist was in his eighties, for Philip II of Spain. It is signed, and considered to have been finished entirely by Titian himself. It is one of a series of grea ...
'' (
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...
). For each problem he undertook, he furnished a new and more perfect formula. He never again equaled the emotion and tragedy of '' The Crowning with Thorns'' (Louvre); in the expression of the mysterious and the divine he never equaled the poetry of the ''Pilgrims of Emmaus''; while in superb and heroic brilliancy he never again executed anything more grand than ''The Doge Grimani adoring Faith'' (Venice, Doge's Palace), or the ''Trinity'', of Madrid. On the other hand, from the standpoint of flesh tints, his most moving pictures are those of his old age, such as the ''poesie'' and the ''Antiope'' of the Louvre. He even attempted problems of
chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
in fantastic night effects (''Martyrdom of St. Laurence'', Church of the Jesuits, Venice; ''St. Jerome'', Louvre;
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
, Church of San Domenico, Ancona). Titian had engaged his daughter Lavinia, the beautiful girl whom he loved deeply and painted various times, to Cornelio Sarcinelli of Serravalle. She had succeeded her aunt Orsa, then deceased, as the manager of the household, which, with the lordly income that Titian made by this time, placed her on a corresponding footing. Lavinia's marriage to Cornelio took place in 1554. She died in childbirth in 1560. Titian was at the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...
towards 1555, of which there is a finished sketch in the Louvre. His friend Aretino died suddenly in 1556, and another close intimate, the sculptor and architect
Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...
, in 1570. In September 1565 Titian went to Cadore and designed the decorations for the church at Pieve, partly executed by his pupils. One of these is a Transfiguration, another an ''
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
'' (now in San Salvatore, Venice), inscribed ''Titianus fecit'', by way of protest (it is said) against the disparagement of some persons who caviled at the veteran's failing handicraft. Around 1560, Titian painted the oil on canvas ''
Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria The ''Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria'', also known simply as ''Holy Conversation'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Titian. It is one of his several versions of the canonical image of the Madonna an ...
'', a derivative on the motif of
Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
. It is suggested that members of Titian's Venice workshop probably painted the curtain and Luke, because of the lower quality of those parts. He continued to accept commissions to the end of his life. Like many of his late works, Titian's last painting, the ''Pietà'', is a dramatic, nocturnal scene of suffering. He apparently intended it for his own tomb chapel. He had selected, as his burial place, the chapel of the Crucifix in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of the Franciscan Order. In payment for a grave, he offered the
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s a picture of the
Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
that represented himself and his son Orazio, with a
sibyl The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditi ...
, before the Savior. He nearly finished this work, but differences arose regarding it, and he settled on being interred in his native Pieve.


Death

While the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
raged in Venice, Titian died on 27 August 1576. Depending on his unknown birthdate (see above), he was somewhere from his late eighties or even close to 100. Titian was interred in the Frari (Basilica di
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...
), as at first intended, and his ''Pietà'' was finished by
Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...
. He lies near his own famous painting, the ''Madonna di Ca' Pesaro.'' No memorial marked his grave. Much later the Austrian rulers of Venice commissioned
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
to sculpt the large monument still in the church. Very shortly after Titian's death, his son, assistant and sole heir
Orazio Orazio is a male given name of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name ( ''nomen'') Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia. People so named include: *Orazio Alfani (c. 1510–1583), Italian painter *Orazio Antinori (1811–1882), Itali ...
, also died of the plague, greatly complicating the settlement of his estate, as he had made no will.


Printmaking

Titian never attempted
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
, but he was very conscious of the importance of
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
as a means to expand his reputation. In the period 1517–1520 he designed a number of
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s, including an enormous and impressive one of ''The Crossing of the Red Sea'', intended as wall decoration in substitute for paintings; and collaborated with
Domenico Campagnola Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564) was an Italian painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut of the Venetian Renaissance, but whose most influential works were his drawings of landscapes. Life and work Born probably in Venice, he ...
and others, who produced additional
prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...
based on his paintings and drawings. Much later he provided drawings based on his paintings to
Cornelis Cort Cornelis Cort (c. 1533 – c. 17 March 1578) was a Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He spent the last 12 years of his life in Italy, where he was known as ''Cornelio Fiammingo''. Biography Born in Hoorn or Edam, Cort may have been a pupil of D ...
from the Netherlands who engraved them.
Martino Rota Martino Rota, also Martin Rota and Martin Rota Kolunić (c. 1520–1583) was an artist, now mainly known for his printmaking, from Dalmatia.Bryan, Michael, (revised by George Stanley) ''A Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and E ...
followed Cort from about 1558 to 1568.


Painting materials

Titian employed an extensive array of pigments and it can be said that he availed himself of virtually all available pigments of his time. In addition to the common pigments of the Renaissance period, such as
ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afgh ...
,
vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...
, lead-tin yellow,
ochres Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
, and
azurite Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the Type locality (geology), type locality at Chessy, Rhône, Chessy-les-Mines near ...
, he also used the rare pigments
realgar Realgar ( ), also known as "ruby sulphur" or "ruby of arsenic", is an arsenic sulfide mineral with the chemical formula α-. It is a soft, sectile mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, or in granular, compact, or powdery form, often in assoc ...
and
orpiment Orpiment is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral with formula . It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and is formed both by sublimation and as a byproduct of the decay of another a ...
.


Family and workshop

Titian's wife, Cecilia, was a barber's daughter from his hometown village of
Cadore Cadore (; lld, Ciadòre; vec, italic=yes, Cadór or, rarely, ''Cadòria''; german: italic=yes, Cadober or ''Kadober''; Sappada German: ''Kadour'';
. As a young woman she had been his housekeeper and mistress for some five years. Cecilia had already borne Titian two fine sons, Pomponio and
Orazio Orazio is a male given name of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name ( ''nomen'') Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia. People so named include: *Orazio Alfani (c. 1510–1583), Italian painter *Orazio Antinori (1811–1882), Itali ...
, when in 1525 she fell seriously ill. Titian, wishing to legitimize the children, married her. Cecilia recovered, the marriage was a happy one, and they had another daughter who died in infancy. In August 1530 Cecilia died. Titian remarried, but little information is known about his second wife; she was possibly the mother of his daughter Lavinia. Titian had a fourth child, Emilia, the result of an affair, possibly with a housekeeper. His favourite child was Orazio, who became his assistant. In August 1530, Titian moved his two sons and infant daughter to a new home and convinced his sister Orsa to come from Cadore and take charge of the household. The mansion, difficult to find now, is in the Biri Grande, then a fashionable suburb, at the extreme end of Venice, on the sea, with beautiful gardens and a view towards
Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...
. In about 1526 he had become acquainted, and soon close friends, with
Pietro Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his time and a ...
, the influential and audacious figure who features so strangely in the chronicles of the time. Titian sent a portrait of him to Gonzaga, duke of
Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
. When he was very young, the famed Italian painter
Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...
was brought to Titian's studio by his father. This was supposedly around 1533, when Titian was (according to the ordinary accounts) over 40 years of age. Tintoretto had only been ten days in the studio when Titian sent him home for good, because the great master observed some very spirited drawings, which he learned to be the production of Tintoretto; it is inferred that he became at once jealous of so promising a student. This, however, is mere conjecture; and perhaps it may be fairer to suppose that the drawings exhibited so much independence of manner that Titian judged that young Jacopo, although he might become a painter, would never be properly a pupil. From this time forward the two always remained upon distant terms, though Tintoretto being indeed a professed and ardent admirer of Titian, but never a friend, and Titian and his adherents turned a cold shoulder to him. There was also active disparagement, but it passed unnoticed by Tintoretto. Several other artists of the Vecelli family followed in the wake of Titian.
Francesco Vecellio Francesco Vecellio (about 1475 – 1560) was a Venetian painter of the Italian Renaissance. He was the elder brother and close collaborator of the painter Tiziano Vecellio ("Titian"). Vecellio was born in Pieve di Cadore, in the Republic of V ...
, his older brother, was introduced to painting by Titian (it is said at the age of twelve, but chronology will hardly admit of this), and painted in the church of S. Vito in Cadore a picture of the titular saint armed. This was a noteworthy performance, of which Titian (the usual story) became jealous; so Francesco was diverted from painting to soldiering, and afterwards to mercantile life.
Marco Vecellio ceiling San Zanipolo Marco Vecellio (1545–1611) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. He was also called Marco di Tiziano, since he was Titian's nephew. He was born and active mainly in Venice. He accompanied his distinguished unc ...
, called Marco di Tiziano, born in 1545, was Titian's nephew and was constantly with the master in his old age, and learned his methods of work. He has left some able productions in the ducal palace, the ''Meeting of Charles V and
Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
in 1529''; in
San Giacomo di Rialto San Giacomo di Rialto is a church in the sestiere of San Polo, Venice, northern Italy. The addition of ''Rialto'' to the name distinguishes this church from its namesake San Giacomo dell'Orio found in the sestiere of Santa Croce, on the same si ...
, an ''Annunciation''; in Santi Giovanni e Paolo, ''Christ Fulminant''. A son of Marco, named Tiziano (or Tizianello), painted early in the 17th century. From a different branch of the family came Fabrizio di Ettore, a painter who died in 1580. His brother Cesare, who also left some pictures, is well known by his book of engraved costumes, ''Abiti antichi e moderni''. Tommaso Vecelli, also a painter, died in 1620. There was another relative, Girolamo Dante, who, being a scholar and assistant of Titian, was called
Girolamo di Tiziano Girolamo di Tiziano (from having been a scholar of Titian and an assistant to him in some of his less important works), also known as Girolamo Dante or Girolamo Dente, flourished at Venice from 1550 to 1580. It is said that in copying the original ...
. Various pictures of his were touched up by the master, and are difficult to distinguish from originals. Few of the pupils and assistants of Titian became well known in their own right; for some being his assistant was probably a lifetime career.
Paris Bordone Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerism, Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor. Biog ...
and
Bonifazio Veronese Bonifacio Veronese, birth name: Bonifacio de' PitatiAlso known as Bonifazio Veneziano (1487 – 19 October 1553) was an Italian Renaissance painter who was active in the Venetian Republic. His work had an important influence on the younger ge ...
were his assistants during at some point in their careers.
Giulio Clovio Giorgio Giulio Clovio or Juraj Julije Klović (1498 – 5 January 1578) was an illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia, who was mostly active in Renaissance Italy. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the It ...
said Titian employed
El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
(or Dominikos Theotokopoulos) in his last years. Polidoro da Lanciano is said to have been a follower or pupil of Titian. Other followers were
Nadalino da Murano Nadalino da Murano, also known as Natalino (active first half of 16th century) was an Italian painter, known for painting or copying works in the style of Titian, his master. Presumably born in Murano, he trained under Titian. He painted both por ...
, Damiano Mazza, and Gaspare Nervesa.


Present day

Contemporary estimates attribute around 400 works to Titian, of which about 300 survive. Two of Titian's works in private hands were put up for sale in 2008. One of these, ''Diana and Actaeon'', was purchased by the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in London and the
National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...
on 2 February 2009 for £50 million. The galleries had until 31 December 2008 to make the purchase before the work would be offered to private collectors, but the deadline was extended. The sale created controversy with politicians who argued that the money could have been spent more wisely during a deepening recession. The Scottish Government offered £12.5 million and £10 million came from the
National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...
. The rest of the money came from the National Gallery and from private donations. The other painting, ''Diana and Callisto'', was for sale for the same amount until 2012 before it was offered to private collectors.


Gallery of works

File:Titian - Portrait of a Lady ('La Schiavona') - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady'' ('' 'La Schiavona''') 1510-12 File:Tizian 050.jpg, '' Noli me tangere'', 1511–15,
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
London File:TITIAN; Portrait of Jacopo Sannazaro (1514-18).JPG, '' Portrait of Jacopo Sannazaro'', 1514–18,
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
, UK File:Titien-homme-au-gant-Louvre.jpg, ''Man with a glove'', c. 1520,
Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, Paris File:Tizian 034.jpg, ''
La Bella ''La Bella'' is a portrait of a woman by Titian in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The painting shows the subject with the ideal proportions for Renaissance women. ''Los maestros de la pintura occidental'', Taschen, 2005, page 176, . In parallel ...
'', c. 1536,
Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
File:Titian - David and Goliath - WGA22779.jpg, ''
David and Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's ...
'', 1542–44, S. Maria della Salute, Venice File:Titian - Pope Paul III with his Grandsons Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese - WGA22985.jpg, '' Pope Paul III and His Grandsons'', c. 1546;
Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...
,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
File:Titian - A monk with a book - Google Art Project.jpg, ''A monk with a book'', c. 1550,
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
, Melbourne File:San Lio (Venice) - Pale d’altare - Apostolo Giacomo il maggiore - Tiziano - 1558.jpg, ''Altarpiece of James the Greater'', 1558, San Lio church, Venice File:Titian - Danaë with a Nurse - WGA22878.jpg, '' Danae with a nurse'', 1560–65,
Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
, Madrid File:San Salvador Interno - Annunciazione del Signore Tiziano.jpg, ''Annunciation of the Lord'', 1559–64, oil on canvas; altar-painting in the San Savator church, Venice File:Tizian 027.jpg, ''
The Entombment The burial of Jesus refers to the entombment of the body of Jesus after crucifixion, before the eve of the sabbath described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel narratives, he was placed in a tomb by a councillor of the san ...
'', c. 1572,
Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...


Notes


References

* Cole, Bruce, ''Titian and Venetian Painting, 1450–1590'', Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1999, * Gould, Cecil, ''The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools'', National Gallery Catalogues, London, 1975, * Hale, Sheila, ''Titian: His Life'', HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2012, * Jaffé, David (ed.), ''Titian'', The National Gallery Company/Yale, London, 2003, * Landau, David, in Jane Martineau and Charles Hope (eds.), ''The Genius of Venice, 1500–1600'', Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1983, , * Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues (new series): ''The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Volume II, Venice 1540–1600'', 2008, National Gallery Publications Ltd, * Ridolfi, Carlo (1594–1658); ''The Life of Titian'', translated by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter E. Bondanella, Penn State Press, 1996, ,
Google Books
*


Further reading

* Crowe, Joseph Archer and Cavalcaselle, Giovanni Battista,
Titian: His Life and Times. With Some Account of His Family, Chiefly from New and Unpublished Records
'' Volume I (London: John Murray, 1877) *
The Life and Times of Titian. With Some Account of His Family
'' Volume II (London: John Murray, 1881). * Hudson, Mark, ''Titian: The Last Days'', New York: Walker and Company, 2009. * Loh, Maria H., ''Titian's Touch: Art, Magic and Philosophy'', London: Reaktion Books, 2019, , * * Nichols, Tom, ''Titian and the End of the Venetian Renaissance'', London: Reaktion Books, 2013. * Prose, Francine and Salomon, Xavier F., ''Titian's Pietro Aretino'', The
Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...
, 2020, *


External links

*
A closer Look at the Madonna of the Rabbit
multimedia feature, Musée du Louvre official site (English version)
The Titian Foundation
Images of 168 paintings by the artist.



* ttp://www.christies.com/presscenter/pdf/09162005/09162005b.pdf Christies' sale blurb for the recently restored 'Mother and Child'* Bell, Malcol
''The early work of Titian''
at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Titian at Panopticon Virtual Art Gallery

How to Paint Like Titian
James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
essay on Titian from ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
''
Tiziano Vecellio - one of the greatest artists of all time

Interactive high resolution scientific imagery of Titian's ''Portrait of a Woman with a Mirror''
from the
C2RMF The National Centre for Research and Restoration in French Museums (C2RMF, ''Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France'') is the national research centre in France responsible for the documentation, conservation and restorati ...

Titian: general resources, his paintings, and pigments used
ColourLex * Teresa Lignelli,
''Archbishop Filippo Archinto'' by Titian (cat. 204)
" in
The John G. Johnson Collection: A History and Selected Works
', a Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital publication
Titian's Filppo Archinto at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
* The poesie exhibition at th
National Gallery in London (16 March 2020 – 17 January 2021)the Museo del Prado in Madrid (2 March 2021 – 4 July 2021)
and th
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (12 August 2021 – 2 January 2022)
{{Authority control Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Venice 1480s births 1576 deaths 16th-century deaths from plague (disease) Deaths in Italy Italian male painters Italian Roman Catholics People from the Province of Belluno Republic of Venice artists 15th-century Venetian people 16th-century Venetian people 15th-century Italian painters 16th-century Italian painters Catholic painters Burials at Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari