Titian: paintings, biography, video

🙂 Hello dear readers! In the article “Titian: paintings, biography, video” about the life of the largest representative of the Venetian school of the High and Late Renaissance.

Titian is one of the greatest painters. His innovation in painting has had a noticeable impact on the work of many generations of artists. He made a huge contribution to the development of the genre of mythology, landscape and portrait.

Titian: biography

The great master lived a long life, retaining an amazing ability to work until his last days. His works harmoniously combined solemnity and routine, the beauty of man and the nature around him. Therefore, his paintings have been copied for centuries.

Various sources mention the date of birth of the master from 1477 to 1480. He came from an old family that had lived for many years in the small Italian town of Pieve di Cadore.

Since childhood, the boy loved to draw, he could do it all day long. Fortunately, the parents noticed and appreciated their son’s talent in time. At the age of ten he was sent to study in Venice.

The young man studied the basics of painting in the workshop of J. Bellini. The teacher played a significant role in his fate, introducing him to the master of painting Giorgione. Thanks to his acquaintance with this great painter, Titian found his own style, which later helped to achieve recognition.

Titian’s paintings

There were different people in the workshop, but Titian showed respect for Giorgione all his life and took his early death to heart.

“Sleeping Venus”

Titian restored, almost from scratch, Giorgione’s burnt painting “Sleeping Venus”, preserving the pose and face of the goddess. Due to his innate modesty, he did not sign the canvas and did not mention anywhere in the conversation about his authorship of this masterpiece.

Titian: paintings, biography, video

Giorgione “Sleeping Venus” 1510, Old Masters Gallery, Dresden

It was this work, originally written by Giorgione, that caused the confusion due to which tens of years, the canvases created by Titian were attributed to Giorgione.

“German courtyard”

In 1508 the renowned painter invited Titian to help in the design of the so-called “German courtyard”. Giorgione designed his part much earlier than Titian, choosing the main façade. Titian was working on the back, which faced a narrow alley.

Giorgione was famous not only for his talent, but also for his charm, so he had many friends. They often came to his place of work and admired his work. Titian had a rather reserved character, was not talkative and too serious.

All residents of Venice gathered to look at the restored “Compound”. The townspeople were delighted with the paintings. Many witnesses noted in their notes that everyone liked the paintings of the young, still unknown, artist more. A commission chaired by Bellini arrived to accept the work.

“Judith”

Titian: paintings, biography, video

“Judith with the Head of Holofernes” 1515 Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Rome, Italy

Art critics have found in the archives the memoirs of a witness named Dolce, who says: “Titian wrote the inimitable Judith. The painting was so beautiful that numerous acquaintances of Giorgione, in a single impulse, rushed to embrace him, saying that this was his best work. “

Titian: paintings, biography, video

Detail of the central fresco by Giorgione and Titian for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, kept in the Franchetti Gallery in Venice

Unfortunately, after 40 years, the frescoes deteriorated due to the humidity of the air, which was oversaturated with sea salt. Moisture and salt have corroded the beautiful drawings. To judge the work of these great artists, now it is possible only by small, miraculously survived, fragments.

But even these dilapidated pieces show that the young master passed the test perfectly. Titian was immediately recognized as a talented artist with his own individual style.

In this era, creative personalities in paintings and in poetry depicted joyful people against the background of a picturesque landscape, and the main themes were love, beautiful landscape and poetry in personal relationships.

Titian also began to paint beautiful landscapes, in the hours of sunset, when nature was preparing for sleep, and everything around was transformed, as if by magic. Titian loved the most beautiful time – the golden autumn. This hobby quickly passed, as all the time they were taking profitable orders for portraits.

“Portrait of a Man in a Dress”

Gradually, Titian became interested in the people themselves, their inner world. This period includes “Portrait of a Man in a Dress …”. The artist portrayed his friend, the famous poet L. Ariosto.

Some critics have argued that this is one of Titian’s many self-portraits. The issue remains controversial, but not fundamental. On this canvas, the writing technique and skill of the painter are clearly visible.

Titian: paintings, biography, video

“Portrait of a Man in a Dress with Blue Sleeves” 1510, London National Gallery

“Three ages of a man”

Over the years, Titian’s paintings became more narrative, dynamic, tension and drama were clearly felt in them. Nature ceased to be only a background, she began to live her own life.

For example, the painting “Three Ages of a Man” speaks of the transience of time and the transience of human life. The background for this work is a picturesque landscape in the light of the midday sun. You need to consider the picture from right to left.

Titian: paintings, biography, video

“Three Ages of a Man”, 1512-14, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Two babies sleep carefree – this is the very beginning of life. The child does not think about anything, the parents decide everything for him. A tiny angel is playing nearby, guarding their peace. Emerald green grass is barely visible on the ground.

Another scene is a couple of lovers under a huge oak tree. This is the middle of life, when a person is young, full of strength and health. And the third scene ends the work. The bent old man holds two skulls in his hands, as the inevitability of the end.

The meaning is clear – a person is born to die after some time. This topic constantly worried the artist. He wrote several pictures on this topic. For example, the well-known work “Allegory of Time and Mind”.

“Rural concert”

The painting “Countryside Concert” also belongs to the same period, where Titian admirably conveyed the harmony of man and nature at the hour before sunset. The canvas depicts two young men in bright clothes. This is a musician with a lute and a peasant who wants to hear his friend play.

Titian: paintings, biography, video

Titian or Giorgione, “Country Concert”, 1509, Louvre, Paris

In the foreground is a young girl holding a flute. Perhaps this is Muse. On the left is another girl with a jug filled with water as a symbol of purification through art. The artist paints naked girls against the background of beautiful nature, this is an allegory of chastity.

In the background, a shepherd walks wearily behind the flock. Roofs of houses can be seen through the crowns of trees, lights flicker here and there, people are already getting ready for bed. As if two worlds coexist on one canvas. Poetry in the foreground and hard peasant life, which in reality almost never intertwine.

Titian’s skill is great and multifaceted. Stopping your gaze on the young man with the lute, suddenly, as if by magic, you begin to hear a quiet, sad melody. For many years, Giorgione was considered the author of this work, since there is the same combination of illusion, poetry, music and harsh reality.

“Lamentation over Christ”

The painting “Lamentation of Christ” or “Pieta” is the last masterpiece of the master. He worked on it, feeling the end of the earthly journey.

Titian: paintings, biography, video

“Pieta” approx. 1575-1576 Academy Gallery, Venice

There are suggestions that he did not complete his work and that his student, Palma the Younger, finished painting the canvas. He finished drawing an angel with a burning candle and some other minor details. Titian Vecellio died on August 27, 1576. The name of the greatest painter went down in the history of world art forever.

Video

Titian: Works of Painting. Be sure to look, friends!

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, ~ 1480-1576) h-1

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, ~ 1480-1576) h-2

Want to see more? The great Titian: works for you

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, ~ 1480-1576) h-3

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