Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
Biography
Titian was the greatest painter of the Venetian School. It is not definite, but he was probably a student of Giovanni Bellini, and when he first began to create his art work he was under the influence of Giorgione. Giorgione helped him to create some frescoes, and when Giorgione died, it was Titian’s responsibility to complete some of Giorgione’s unfinished paintings. Titian’s first major work was for the three frescoes on the life of St Antony of Padua in the Scuola del Santo, Padua. He brought a “central Italian firmness and monumentality” to these paintings. Titian became the official painter of the Republic and held the title of the leading painter of the city until the time of his death sixty years later. Instead of following the ways of Giorgione, Titian was soon able to develop his own style of art. It was a mix of both his and Giorgione’s styles and is portrayed in Titian’s painting called, Sacred and Profane Love. This painting was one of his many creations from a successful period in his career when he “produced splendid religious, mythological, and portrait paintings, original in conception and vivid with colour and movement.” Another one of his major works was the Assumption of the Virgin. It was a huge altarpiece and the largest and one of the greatest paintings he ever created. After his wife died in 1530, Titian began using a more meditative and restrained form of art. He became famous throughout Europe and met the emperor, Charles V who made Titian court painter and brought him to the rank of Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur. In the early 1540s Titian began to be influenced by the Mannerism of central and northern Italy. On his trips to Rome and Augsburg, Titian painted portraits of Pope Paul III, Charles V, and his son Phillip II. He later ran an art studio with the assistance of his brother, son, and cousin.
Sacred and Profane Love
Titian painted this scene to celebrate the marriage of the Venetian Nicolò Aurelio and Laura Bagarotto in 1514. Titian intended on bringing both earthly and heavenly love to his famous painting.
Assumption of the Virgin
Titian worked on this piece for more than two years. The figures of the Apostles demonstrate the influence of Michelangelo, and the painting shows clear similarities with the works of Raphael in the iconographical aspect of the work.
Presentation of the Virgin
Titian painted this for the Scuola Grande of Santa Maria della Carità. This painting shows the influence of Tuscan-Roman painting on Titian. This painting is a 16th century version of the Vittore Carpaccio's narrative works.
