Titian 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 artist
Pictures of Titian are on a par with the masterpieces of such Renaissance masters as Michelangelo, Rafael, Leonardo da Vinci. At the age of thirty, the artist was declared the best painter of Venice. Paintings of Titian, written at different times, are distinguished by a pronounced sacredness, most paintings reflect mythological and biblical subjects. He also became famous as a master of portraiture.
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 switched to training 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
The paintings of Titian of the early period are mainly portraits. In 1510, Giorgione dies of the plague, and young Vecellio undertakes to finish the incomplete work of his mentor. A year later, Titian leaves for Padua, where in the church of Scuola del Santo he paints the vaults with frescoes about the wonderful transformations of Anthony of Padua.
Portrait art
After the painter paid tribute to Giorgione, he turns to images of ladies from high society and biblical themes. One of the main topics in the artist’s work was female portraits. The paintings of Titian with madonnas and babies were appreciated by connoisseurs of that time and were marked as canvases full of life-affirming power and that special inner enlightenment that distinguished the artist’s work. Vecellio managed to bring something elusively earthy, but at the same time infallible, into the biblical themes. Portraits of Titian struck a high level of spirituality, however, a living person looked from the canvas, usually with sadness in his eyes.
After Giorgione, the painter Vecellio tried to find someone from the highest artistic class for himself to gain experience. Rafael and Michelangelo became such masters for him. Titian’s painting gradually acquired signs of maturity, the plots became more meaningful, and the finest half-tones on his canvases delighted connoisseurs of painting. The artist did not have time to fulfill the endless orders that the representatives of the royal court and the Vatican filled him with, among his regular customers were cardinals and dukes, noble ladies and Roman nobles.
World famous masterpiece
The painting, which was created by Titian in 1538, "Venus Urbinskaya", became an example of symbolism in painting. A naked young woman with crumbling roses in her hand symbolizes her willingness to become someone else's wife. The artist depicted the young bride of the Duke of Guidobaldo, sitting on a bed in anticipation of the main event of his life - marriage. A dog sleeps at the feet of the bride - a symbol of marital fidelity, in the background maids are bustling, sorting through the dowry in the chests. Titian in the picture "Venus" displayed the ideal woman of the Renaissance.
Another wonderful picture in which the artist captured a female image is the Penitent Magdalene. Titian turned to the image of Maria Magdalene repeatedly, but the best painting is considered to be the one located 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 remorse. Mental confusion on the face, in the eyes - the hope of getting rid of unbearable suffering. Taking the image of the lush-haired Venetian as a basis, Titian endowed her with characteristic features that emphasize the drama and anxiety that permeated the picture. Hundreds of shades convey the thrill of the soul of the penitent Mary.
Portrait art of Titian experienced its heyday in 1530 - 1540, when the artist portrayed his contemporaries with amazing insight, guessing the slightest nuances of characters, reflecting on the canvases the state of their soul. He even managed to display the relationship between people who were depicted in a group portrait. The artist easily found the only necessary compositional solution, accurately selected the pose, gesture, and head rotation.
Mastery
Since 1538, Titian has mastered perfectly the finest tonal shades, when the main color gives rise to dozens of different halftones. For the painting technique, especially portraiture, this ability to freely use the color scheme 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 are “Portrait of Gonzag Federico” (1529), “Architect Giulio Romano” (1536), “Pietro Arentino” (1545), “Venus and Adonis” (1554), “Gloria” (1551), “A Man in military costume " (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 the Third. There Titian first met Michelangelo. Three years later, he moved to Germany, where he enjoyed the hospitality of Charles V, emperor. During this period, the painter creates several monumental paintings: "Crowning with a crown of thorns" (1542), "Man Xie" (1543) and a number of paintings under the general name "Danae".
Later, the artist wrote 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). The famous self-portrait of the artist was also painted during this period, where Titian is depicted with a brush in his hand.
Light and airiness
Later works are distinguished by an even finer color chromatism. Muted golden tones, blue with a steel tint, an infinite number of pink-red tones. A distinctive feature of Titian's later works is the impression of airiness, the manner of writing is exceptionally free, composition, form, light - everything is combined into one whole. Titian founded a special technique of pictorial drawing, where paints are applied not only with a brush, but also with fingers and a palette knife. Different in strength, the pressure gave a variety of shades. Out of 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 the Cupid with a blindfold, Tarquinius and Lucretius, The Carrying of the Cross, The Position in the Sepulcher, Annunciation. In these paintings, the artist displayed inescapable tragedy, all of his later paintings are distinguished by the deepest drama.
Artist's death
In 1575, Venice faced a disaster that swept the whole city, it was a terrible epidemic of plague. In one week, a third of the population died. Titian also fell ill, on August 27, 1575, the artist was found dead near an easel. He clasped a brush in one hand and a palette in the other.
In Italy, there was a law prohibiting the burial of victims of 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 fire. The brilliant artist was buried in the cathedral "Saint Gloriosa Maria dei Frari".