The past ten years of publications, exhibitions and auctions which include Titian are innumerable- it is an understatement that the current reception of Titian is non-existent, it seems as though more than ever before there is a newfound interest in the Venetian colourist. Part of this reason, is the technological advancement which the field of art history and conservation has undergone. This transformation has resulted in new evidence being discovered regarding paintings done by artists like Titian which not only give insight to his technique but also the artist’s invenzione. But of course, this is applicable to many of the Renaissance paintings of today. An example is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s reattribution of a painting of Philip IV to the Spanish artist Diego Velazquez to due its restoration in 2009. So, if this is the case what makes Titian so significant?
Titian began his artistic career much like many of the Renaissance artists of the 15th century, training under a master painter and learning to emulate and eventually adopt his style. Titian was a pupil of both the infamous Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione in Venice, and this is evident in some of the earliest works painted by Titian. In his 1510 Gypsy Madonna, there is an evident Giorgionesque manner in how the composition is painted, but when reflecting on the contemplative face of the Madonna we see the striking similarities to Bellini’s Madonnas.
Titian, Gypsy Madonna, 1510
Giovanni Bellini, Madonna degli Alberetti, 1487
However, there was drastic departure in the traditional paintings Titian was painting by 1520. Titian’s invenzione and interest in defying conventions is explicit in the high altarpiece for the church Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Titian was commissioned to depict the Assumption of the Virgin, which was quite an appropriate subject matter for an altarpiece. But, it how Titian translates this traditional subject which reflects his invenzione. Instead of seeing the Virgin stretched out gracefully as the Heavens open up above her we see a dramatic re-interpretation. Chaotically at the bottom of the painting, the viewer is confronted with the feet of all of the disciples looking upwards. They are frantic as one on the right-hand side clothed in red robes reaches out in an attempt to reach for the Virgin. The Virgin, traditionally depicted in a very calm demeanor wears a look of uncertainty on her face as putti carry her up to where God, depicted at the top of the painting, is welcoming her. This painting was unconventional for its time, and also an unconventional representation of a subject that was to be displayed as an altarpiece.
The most interesting style to address is the drastic departure from Titian’s pittura di macchia of paintings like the Danaë, Rape of Europa, Tarquin and Lucretia to his last style as seen in the paintings The Death of Actaeon and The Flaying of Marsyas. Traditionally, from Vasari’s account of Titian’s life, he praises Titian’s earlier works like the Rape of Europa where Vasari states that the canvas seems to come alive. Then, in describing the painter’s last works, he states that Titian should have never continued to sell his works at such an elderly age, and instead should have painted for his own amusement. This reflects the Renaissance thought of senescence or old age- it was common to fear losing one’s youthfulness, or for the artist, one’s artistic abilities. Vasari believed the work of Titian’s last years was poor because of the state of Titian’s health; his failing eyesight and trembling hands had resulted in paintings that were muddied and incoherent. Titian did not stop producing nor selling his work until his death, even in his last years he was said to have been in correspondence with his patron Philip II, requesting additional money for commissions, or complaining that he had not received sufficient payments for previous commissions. In other words, looking at previous examples it seems as though Titian was an inventor. He was radical in the fact that he separated himself from the conventions of the time and did not let them dictate his artistic practice. This is evident even in old age, as he continues to paint, even with his deteriorating health. Perhaps this was because he was making a statement against the conventions of the courtly artist. Rather than paint for his own amusement, Titian was creating works which were extremely avant-garde for the period; one can see the similarities of paint application in Titian’s Flaying of Marysas to the style the French Impressionists of the nineteenth century.
Close up of The Flaying of Marsyas
Close up of Claude Monet's, Path through the Irises, 1914
Though Titian broke with the conventions of the time his works was still viewed with these conventions in mind. Many art historians like Vasari didn’t understand the departure of the artist’s style: the sudden emphasis on the materiality of the paint rather than the subject because at that time the subject of a painting was always the focal point of a piece, not the paint. But, by today’s standards in art this is an extremely common practice seen in modern movements like Impressionism in the 19th century to the Abstract Expressionism in the 20th century. By producing paintings that not only describe the subject matter but also almost become the subject itself, Titian challenged the art practice of the time. This made art historians like Vasari uncomfortable, which corresponds with his biography of the artist where he suddenly, at the end of Titian’s life, criticizes the artist for painting into his old age. Titian’s oeuvre is unquestionably vast and proves that he was capable of creating works in a range of styles and techniques that are inherently unique from any other artist at the time. This is what makes Titian such a reputable artist, an artist of immense talents, and a unique creator. Interestingly enough, even this past year in January at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York, Titian’s Adoration of the Magi was sold for a record 16. 9 million dollars, a new record for his beautiful paintings.
Laura Stewart
*All images obtained from ARTSTOR*
Works Cited:
Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, ed.
*All images obtained from ARTSTOR*
Works Cited:
Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, ed.
William Gaunt. London: Dent, 1963. Vols. 1-4
Sohm, Philip. The Artist Grows Old: The Aging of Art and Artists in Italy, 1500-1800
Yale University Press, 2007
