About the Blog

The Venus and Adonis

  The Titian Experience is a blog dedicated to the 16th century Venetian artist Tiziano Vecelli (Titian)- his life, art and legacy. Though Titian is an reputable artist his influence has not received nearly as much acclaim as that of his contemporary and rival Michelangelo. One must consider some factors which may have attributed to this lack of immediate recognition: bias, location, and the type of commissions.

  By the 16th century in Italy Florence had already established itself as the center for the arts. The re-discovery of many of the sculptures from Classical Antiquity only aided Florence's artists achieve a newfound naturalism never seen before in the modelling of the nude. But, unlike the Florentines the Venetian artists did not have access to the Classical sculptures of Rome because of remoteness of Venice. Though Titian was a skilled artist this Florentine bias prevented the artist from getting much of the praise he deserved. Contemporary art critic and Florentine Vasari in his Lives commended Michelangelo for his disegno in works like the Sistine Ceiling while only praising Titian for his colorito. Titian's location in Venice also limited his ability to circulate his works and garnish a reputation in Europe. Examining the type of commissions Titian had, many were altarpieces for Venetian churches like Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, and San Salvatore. The Pesaro Altarpiece and the Assumption of the Virgin High Altar for Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari are examples of commissions which are still to this present day situated at the original location. Altarpieces like these rarely (if ever) are included in international traveling exhibitions especially works that are too immense in scale like the Assunta. Access to these altarpieces are only through traveling to the original location of Venice, Italy- therefore, the amount of exposure altarpieces like this have is much less than works which are housed in collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Louvre.


The Titian Experience features Titian's works and a brief biography- through documentation of recent exhibitions, published books, and auctions Torie and I will attempt to show that Titian's works are still very much relevant to today's art industry. As stated above there are factors that Titian works may have not received as much attention as other Renaissance artists, but regardless Titian is known and is appreciated by many for invenzione in colorito and disegno. 

        *Important to note: All Images of Titian's paintings have been taken from ARTSTOR*