Titian
Biography and Paintings of Italian High Renaissance and Mannerism Movement Artist Tiziano Vecellio
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Titian (c.1490–1576)

The Old Master Titian was one the leaders of the Venetian school of the Italian High Renaissance and subsequent Mannerism movement in the 16th century. He was a versatile artist and changed his style several times throughout his long career (he produced over 600 paintings), but is perhaps best known for his portraits and landscapes. As one of the greatest exponents in the use of colour among artists of the High Renaissance, his contemporaries nicknamed him the 'sun amidst small stars'. His most notable works include The Entombment of Christ, 1523-26 (Louvre, Paris), Death of St. Peter Martyr, 1530 and Venus of Urbino, 1538 (Galeria degli Uffizi, Florence).

Titian was born to a well-established wealthy family, in a small village near Belluno in Northern Italy around 1490. Little is known of his early life, except that at the age of 10, his father recognising his artistic talent, sent the young Titian to Venice to study art. He studied under the mosaicist Sebastiano Zuccati and then went to the studio of the brothers Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. Giovanni was perhaps the more famous, and his passion for the sensuous use of colour had a huge impact on the young Titian. Titian went on to assist Giorgione, another pupil of Bellini, with his paintings on the Fondaco dei Tedesch, 1508. Giorgione was an elusive Italian painter, only 6 of his paintings survive as far as we know. He died 2 years later and Titian went on to finish some of his works, in a Giorgionesque manner. Gradually however his own style of fine art painting developed and his brushwork became more bold and expressive.

Portrait of a Venetian Gentleman
(c.1510)

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Titian's first major work was the completion of 'Homage of Frederick Barbarossa to Pope Alexander III, 1512. The work had been started by Bellini, but remained unfinished after the artist’s death. The Venetian Senate were so please with Titian's work they gave him an annual salary. Commissions rapidly started appearing including The Feast of Venus, c.1515 (Prado, Madrid), The Bacchanal, c.1518 (Prado, Madrid), and Bacchus and Ariadne, c.1523. By 1521, he had become one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance and people flocked to have their portrait painted. He painted princes, monks, cardinals, animals, other artists, writers and friends. His works have often been compared with those of other master portraitists like Rembrandt and Rubens.

In 1530 he painted his masterpiece Death of St. Peter Martyr (which was unfortunately bombed by an Austrian shell in 1867). Only copies and engravings remain, but it shows a violent landscape, a great tree pressed into the ground and accentuated in a dramatic way. Another work from this time is The Entombment of Christ, 1523-26 (Louvre, Paris) and Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg, 1548, a grand equestrian portrait.

Titian’s later works become looser and tend to lose their solidity. Colours and textures almost melt into each other, giving a shimmering, unsettling atmospheric effect. His brushwork became more vibrant, and it is thought he even started using his fingers to complete paintings. As he grew older, he became more critical of his work and often kept paintings in his studios for years, retouching, until he was finally happy to release them. His pupils often copied his works for sales, and as he helped with the completion of many of these, this has led to all sorts of problems with attribution in later years.

Some of his later important works include Alfonso di'Avalos Addressing his Troops, 1539-41 (Museo del Prado, Madrid), St. John the Baptist, c.1540 (Gallerie dell' Accademia, Venice), Christ Crowned with Thorns, 1540 (The Louvre, Paris), David and Goliath, c.1540 (Santa Maria della Salute, Venice), Portrait of Clarissa Strozzi, 1542 (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), Venus and Cupid with an Organist, c.1548 (Museo del Prado), Ecce Homo, 1548 (Museo del Prado), Adam and Eve, c.1550 (Museo del Prado), Crucifixion c.1555. (Monastero di San Lorenzo, Spain), Ecce Homo c.1558 (National Gallery of Ireland), Penitent St. Mary Magdalene, 1565 (The Hermitage, St. Petersburg) and The Virgin and Child with Four Saints (Alte Meister Gallerie, Dresden).

He died in August 1567, in his late 80's, succumbing to the plague, which raged through Venice at the time. His son died shortly after and thieves who were taking advantage of the chaos and fear in the city plundered the family mansion. Titian was interred in the famous Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice and lies near his renowned painting of the Madonna di Ca'Pesaro. His influence on the history of art should not be minimized. He revolutionized the technique of oil painting by freeing up brushstrokes and using colour more expressively. This inspired other great artists like as El Greco (who was apprenticed to Titian in his later years), Rubens, Rembrandt, Delacroix and the Impressionists. In company with figures like Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, Titian remains one of the greats of the Italian Renaissance period.

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