Titian's paintings: photo and description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Tizian Vecellio - Italian artist, the largest representative of the Renaissance, master of the Venetian school of painting. Born in 1490, in the family of a military and statesman Vecellio Gregory.

Renaissance painter

Titian's paintings are on a par with the masterpieces of such masters of the Renaissance as Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci. At the age of thirty, the artist was declared the best painter in Venice. Titian's paintings, painted at different times, are distinguished by a pronounced sacredness, most of the paintings reflect mythological and biblical subjects. He also became famous as a master of portrait painting.

In 1502, Titian Vecellio entered the workshop of Sebastiano Zuccato, where he was taught to sketch and then introduced to the basics of painting. After some time, the teenager went to study with Giovanni Bellini. There he met Lorenzo Lotto and Giorgione. With the latter, Titian worked on frescoes in the temple of Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

First masterpieces

Titian's early period paintings are mostly portraits. In 1510, Giorgione dies of the plague, and the young Vecellio undertakes to finish the unfinished work of hismentor. And a year later, Titian went to Padua, where in the church of Scuola del Santo he painted vaults with frescoes about the miraculous transformations of Anthony of Padua.

Portrait Art

After paying tribute to the memory of Giorgione, the painter turns to images of high society ladies and biblical themes. One of the main themes in the artist's work was female portraits. Titian's paintings with Madonnas and Infants were valued by connoisseurs of that time and were noted as canvases full of life-affirming power and that special inner enlightenment that distinguished the painter's work. Vecellio managed to bring something subtly earthly, but at the same time infallible, to stories on a biblical theme. Titian's portraits struck with a high level of spirituality, at the same time, a living person looked from the canvas, as a rule, with sadness in his eyes.

After Giorgione, the painter Vecellio tried to find for himself someone from the highest artistic class in order to gain experience. Such masters for him were Raphael and Michelangelo. Titian's painting gradually acquired signs of maturity, the subjects became more and more meaningful, and the finest halftones on his canvases delighted connoisseurs of art. The artist did not have time to fulfill the endless orders with which he was bombarded by representatives of the royal court and the Vatican, among his regular clients were cardinals and dukes, noble ladies and Roman nobles.

World famous masterpiece

A painting created by Titian in 1538,"Venus of Urbino", has become an example of symbolism in painting. A naked young woman with crumbling roses in her hand symbolizes her readiness to become someone's wife. The artist depicted the young bride of Duke Guidobaldo, sitting on a bed in anticipation of the main event of her life - marriage. A dog is sleeping at the feet of the bride - a symbol of marital fidelity, in the background servants are bustling, sorting through the dowry in the chests. Titian in the painting "Venus" displayed the ideal woman of the Renaissance.

Another wonderful painting in which the artist captured a female image is "Penitent Magdalene". Titian turned to the image of Mary Magdalene more than once, but the best canvas is the one that is in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The size of the masterpiece is 119 by 97 centimeters.

Magdalene

The painter depicted a woman at the moment of repentance. Mental confusion on the face, in the eyes - the hope of getting rid of unbearable suffering. Taking as a basis the image of a lush-haired Venetian, Titian endowed her with characteristic features that emphasize the drama and anxiety that permeate the picture. Hundreds of shades convey the awe of the soul of the penitent Mary.

Titian's portrait art flourished in 1530 - 1540, when the artist depicted his contemporaries with amazing insight, guessing the slightest nuances of characters, reflecting on the canvases the state of their souls. He even managed to display the relationship between people who were depicted in a group portrait. The artist easily foundthe only necessary compositional solution, unmistakably chose a pose, gesture, turn of the head.

Craftsmanship

Since 1538, Titian has mastered to perfection the finest tonal shades, when the main color gives rise to dozens of different halftones. For the technique of painting, especially portraiture, this ability to freely deal with colors means a lot. The nuances of color intertwined with the psychologism of the picture, the emotional component became noticeable.

The best works of that period - "Portrait of Gonzaga Federico" (1529), "Architect Giulio Romano" (1536), "Pietro Arentino" (1545), "Venus and Adonis" (1554), "Gloria" (1551), "A man in a military suit" (1550), "Clarissa Strozzi" (1542), "Ranuccio Farnese" (1542), "Beauty" (1537), "Count Antonio di Porcia" (1535), "Charles V with a dog ".

In 1545 the artist left for Rome to create a series of portraits of Pope Paul III. There, Titian first met Michelangelo. Three years later, he moves to Germany, where he enjoys the hospitality of Charles V, the emperor. During this period, the painter creates several monumental canvases: "Coronation with Thorns" (1542), "Se Man" (1543) and a number of paintings under the general name "Danae".

Later, the artist painted deeply psychological paintings: "Venus and Adonis" (1554), "Gloria" (1551), "A man in a military suit" (1550),"Diana and Actaeon" (1559), "Venus in front of a mirror", (1555), "The Rape of Europe" (1562), "Allegory of Prudence" (1560), "Girl with a Fan" (1556), "Architect Giulio Romano" (1536), "Pietro Arentino" (1545), "Clarissa Strozzi" (1542), "Ranuccio Farnese" (1542), "Beauty" (1537), "Count Antonio di Porcia" (1535). During this period, the famous self-portrait of the artist was also painted, where Titian is depicted with a brush in his hand.

Light and airiness

Later works are distinguished by even more subtle color chromatism. Muted golden tones, steely blues, endless rose red tones. A distinctive feature of the later works of Titian is the impression of airiness, the manner of writing is exceptionally free, composition, form, light - everything is combined into one. Titian founded a special technique of pictorial drawing, where paints are applied not only with a brush, but also with fingers and palette knives. Pressure of different strength gave different shades. From the variety of free strokes, images filled with genuine drama were born.

The last masterpieces of Titian, written shortly before his death: "Pieta", "Saint Sebastian", "Venus and Cupid with a blindfold", "Tarquinius and Lucretia", "Carrying the Cross", "The Entombment", "Annunciation". In these paintings, the artist displayed an inescapable tragedy, all later canvases are distinguished by the deepest drama.

Death of an artist

In 1575, Venice was faced with a disaster that swept the entire city, it was a terrible plague. In one week, a third of the population died. Titian also fell ill, on August 27, 1575, the artist was found dead near the easel. He held a brush in one hand and a palette in the other.

In Italy, there was a law prohibiting the burial of those who died from the plague, since the virus of this terrible disease is incredibly tenacious, it can persist for decades. Therefore, the dead were simply burned. Titian decided not to burn. The ingenious artist was buried in the Cathedral "Saint Gloriosa Maria dei Frari".