Ascension of Mary. Titian's early works

Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38). On the sixth month of the conception of John the Baptist, the Angel Gabriel was sent to a small town located in the Zebulun tribe of the southern part of Galilee, to Nazareth, “To the Virgin, betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; the name is Virgo:

Birth and Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary A husband and wife, Joachim and Anna, lived in the city of Jerusalem. They were distant, although poor descendants of King David, but they were very kind and pious people. They had no children, and they prayed very much and asked the Lord to send them at least

THE BIRTH AND ANNUNCIATION OF THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY A husband and wife, Joachim and Anna, lived in the small Galilean city of Nazareth. They were distant and poor descendants of King David, but good and pious people. All their lives they had no children, and they were very upset about this.

THE BIRTH AND ANNUNCIATION OF THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY A husband and wife, Jacob and Anna, lived in the city of Jerusalem. They were distant, although poor descendants of King David, but they were very kind and pious people. They had no children, and they prayed very much and asked the Lord to send them at least

Titian Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore, c. 1485/1490 - Venice, 1576) was a key figure in the development of Venetian and European painting. A great colorist, he brought out the possibilities of writing "with all color" to the utmost, creating a language that would then influence Tintoretto and other major European masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens and El Greco.

Titian's early works

At the age of ten, Titian went to Venice and there devoted himself to the study of painting. His teachers are called the mosaicist Zuccato, Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. Significantly influenced the development of Titian Giorgione, with whom he performed together around 1507 in the Venetian church of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, now dead frescoes (the earliest known work by Titian). One of the earliest and most perfect works of Titian, "Christ with a Denarius" (Dresden), is remarkable in terms of the depth of its psychological characteristics, the subtlety of execution and brilliant coloring.

Titian. Christ with a denarius (Denarius of Caesar). 1516

In his first works, Titian develops a "painting of tone" ("Don't Touch Me", National Gallery, London; a series of female half-figures such as Flora, c. 1515, Uffizi Gallery, Florence), at the same time showing an interest in painting Andrea Mantegna , Albrecht Dürer and Raphael, increasingly focusing on expressive realism, which was a fundamental innovation for the Venetian school and the entire culture of the Serenissima (frescoes in the scuola of St. Anthony in Padua, 1511; a series of portraits, including Ariosto, National Gallery, London; first woodcuts).

Titian. Woman in front of a mirror. OK. 1514

Titian. Love earthly and heavenly. 1514

This trend found its final expression in Titian's painting " Love earthly and heavenly"(1515, Borghese Gallery, Rome) and the monumental altarpiece "Assunta" ("Assumption of the Virgin and taking her to heaven", 1518, Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice). "Assunta" - a masterpiece of religious painting by Titian. The miraculously enlightened face of the Mother of God, ascending in height, the delight and animation of the apostles gathered at the tomb, the majestic composition, the extraordinary brilliance of colors - all together make up a powerful solemn chord that makes an irresistible impression.

Titian. Assumption of the Virgin (Assunta). 1516-1518

Titian and court culture

In subsequent years, Titian began to fulfill orders from some Italian courts (Ferrara, from 1519; Mantua, from 1523; Urbino, from 1532) and Emperor Charles V(since 1530), creating mythological and allegorical scenes: for example, Venus Urbinskaya(1538, Uffizi Gallery, Florence).

Titian. Venus Urbinskaya. Before 1538

How originally Titian developed ancient subjects is shown by his paintings “Diana and Callisto” and especially - full of life “ Bacchanalia"(Madrid)," Bacchus and Ariadne» (National Gallery, London).

Titian. Bacchus and Ariadne. 1520-1522

To what high perfection the skill of depicting a naked body was brought, can be judged by the numerous “Venuses” (the best in Florence, in the Uffizi) and “Danaes”, striking with the bulge of forms and the power of color.

Titian. Bacchanalia. 1523-1524

Even allegorical images Titian was able to give a noble vitality and beauty. Titian's "Three Ages" belong to excellent examples of this kind of painting.

His female portraits are also excellent: "Flora" (Uffizi, Florence), "Beauty" ("La bella") (Pitti, Florence), a portrait of Titian's daughter Lavinia.

Titian. Flora. 1515-1520

The desire for realism in the depicted event makes itself felt in several of Titian's altarpieces, including Pesaro Altarpiece(1519 - 1526, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice), where exceptional mastery of composition was demonstrated.

Titian. Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro Family (Pesaro Altarpiece). 1519-1526

Titian uses the theme of the Holy Interview here, however, he places the figures not frontally to the image plane (as, for example, in Giorgione in the Altar of Castelfranco), but diagonally at different levels: a group of the Madonna and Child at the top right, a group with a hero worshiping her at the bottom left and kneeling members of the customer family (the Pesaro family) at the bottom right in the foreground.

Finally, Titian is of great importance as a landscape painter. The landscape plays a prominent role in many of his paintings. Titian excellently depicts the strict, simple and majestic beauty of nature.

For independent artistic development, Titian's whole life was extremely successful: he did not live in a closed narrow circle, but in wide communication with scientists and poets of that time and was a welcome guest of the rulers of the world and noble people, as the first portrait painter. Pietro Aretino, Ariosto, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso, Duke of Mantua Federigo, Emperor Charles V, who made Titian his court painter, Pope Paul III, were his friends and patrons. During a long and extremely active life, with the versatility of talent, Titian created a wide variety of works, especially in the last 40 years, when numerous students helped him. Yielding in ideality and spirituality to Raphael and Michelangelo, Titian is equal to the first in the sense of beauty, and the second in the dramatic vitality of the composition, and surpasses both in the power of painting. Titian possessed an enviable ability to convey the magnificent charm of color, to give extraordinary life to the color of a naked body. Therefore, Titian is considered the greatest of the Italian colorists.

This wonderful brilliance of color is inextricably linked with the brilliance of the joyful consciousness of existence, which pervades all the paintings of Titian. Negligence and luxury, a sense of jubilation and a balanced full of light bliss breathe his dignitaries and important figures of the Venetians. Even in Titian's religious paintings, what strikes one first of all is the equanimity of pure being, the absolute harmony of feelings and the inviolable integrity of the spirit, which evokes an impression similar to that of the antiques.

Increasing the drama of images

In his earliest works, Titian clearly adheres to the style of Bellini, which he sustains with particular force and from which he completely frees himself in his mature works. In the later ones, Titian introduces greater mobility of figures, greater passion in the expression of faces, and greater vigor in the interpretation of the plot. The period after 1540, marked by a trip to Rome (1545 - 1546), became a turning point in the work of Titian: he turned to a new type of figurative image, trying to fill it with increased drama and intensity of feelings. Such is the picture esseHomo(1543, Museum of the History of Art, Vienna) and a group portrait PaulIII with nephews Alessandro and Ottavio(1546, National Gallery and Museum of Capodimonte, Naples).

Titian. Ecce homo ("Behold the man"). 1543

In 1548, summoned by the emperor, Titian went to Augsburg, where the imperial diet was then held; his equestrian portrait CharlesV inBattle of Muhlberg and front portrait PhilipII(Prado, Madrid) brought him the status of the first artist of the Habsburg court.

Titian. Equestrian portrait of Emperor Charles V on the field of the Battle of Mühlberg. 1548

He continued to create paintings of erotic-mythological content, such as Venus with organist, cupid and dog or Danae(Several variants).

The depth of psychological penetration also characterizes the new portraits of Titian: these are Clarissa Strozzi at the age of five(1542, State Museums, Berlin), Young man with blue eyes also known as Young Englishman(Palazzo Pitta, Florence).

Titian. Portrait of a young Englishman (Portrait of an unknown person with gray eyes). OK. 1540-1545

Influence of Mannerism on Titian

In Venice, Titian's activity was concentrated primarily in the field of religious painting: he painted altarpieces, such as Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence(1559, Jesuit church).

Titian. Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence. 1559

Among his latest masterpieces are Annunciation(San Salvatore, Venice), Tarquinius and Lucretia(Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna), Crowning with thorns (Bavarian art collections, Munich), which mark Titian's clear transition to the mannerist stage. The great artist really brings painting “with all color” to its logical conclusion, creating a language that allows experimenting with new, deeply expressive means.

Titian. Annunciation. 1562-1564

This approach had a strong influence on Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Rubens, El Greco and some other major masters of the time.

Titian's last painting, not quite finished after death, was "Pietà" (Academy, Venice), denouncing the already trembling hand of a 90-year-old man, but in composition, color and drama, it is remarkable to a high degree. Titian died of the plague at the age of about 90 in Venice on August 27, 1576 and was buried in the church of Santa Maria dei Frari.

In terms of tirelessness and vitality of genius, Titian has only rival Michelangelo, next to whom he stood for two-thirds of the 16th century. What was Raphael to Rome, Michelangelo to Florence, Leonardo da Vinci for Milan, that was Titian for Venice. He not only completed in a number of major works the cumulative efforts of previous generations of the Venetian school, but also brilliantly opens a new era. Its beneficial influence covers not only Italy, but spreads throughout Europe. Dutch - Rubens and Van Dyck, the French - Poussin and Watteau, the Spaniards - Velasquez and Murillo, the British - Reynolds and Gainsborough owe Titian as much as the Italians Tintoretto, Tiepolo and Paolo Veronese.

The young Titian received an excellent art education. After a short study with the mosaicist Sebastiano Zuccatti, he moved to the studio of Giovanni Bellini, around which the best artistic forces of Venice rallied at that time. Together with Titian, Giorgione da Castelfranco and Sebastiano del Palmo worked in the workshop, who later introduced Rome to the coloristic discoveries of the Venetian school of painting. Titian in the early period was significantly influenced by Giorgione. This influence is felt in his painting stronger than borrowing from the style of the teacher, G. Bellini, a master who very gradually comprehended the problems of the High Renaissance. Giorgione, the same age as Titian, developed as an artist extremely quickly. He is the first representative of the mature Renaissance in Venetian art. Titian organically mastered the system of expressive means of Giorgione, his understanding of harmony. It is not for nothing that even now it is not easy to distinguish between some of the paintings of both masters, and one of the first paintings by Titian “Concert” (1510s) was attributed to Giorgione for a long time. After his death, Titian, by the way, completed his famous “Sleeping Venus”, painting a landscape background.

"Love earthly and heavenly." 1514. Oil on canvas. Galleria Borghese, Rome.

However, an attentive eye can also distinguish features in the works of this early period that are characteristic only of Titian. First of all, this is the great inner activity of the characters, the psychological saturation of the images, which manifested itself even in such a contemplative portrait as “Portrait of a Young Man with a Glove” (between 1515 and 1520). Gradually, Titian develops his own style, which absorbed all the best features of his predecessors: the saturation of color, the harmony of the physical and spiritual principles, embodied in the images of the characters. These features were already fully manifested in the canvas “Love on Earth and Heaven” (1510s), in which the figures of two women reveal different aspects of a triumphant feeling. These figures are not so much opposed to each other, as it was in the literary source of the plot, the poem by Marsilio Ficino, but complement one another. In this work, Titian demonstrates his already mature coloristic talent. Golden saturated tones in the image of the human body will now forever remain in its palette.
The powerful dynamics of the composition, the dynamics of revealing the state of mind of a person, is distinguished by the huge canvas “Ascension of Mary” (“Assunta”), made by Titian in 1518 for the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa de Frari.

Ascension of Our Lady (Assunta). 1516-1518. Wood, oil. C. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

The viewer immediately notices the figure of Mary in bright red robes, which slowly, smoothly and confidently rises into the air. The people at the bottom of the composition, as if enchanted, follow her movement. Oddly enough, but this fantastic flight gives the impression of an absolutely real, the central figure is so authentically written materially. There is nothing of mysticism, exalted knowledge, miracle. The young Titian often depicts figures in a wide, but internally clearly organized and measured movement. Indicative in this regard is the canvas "Bacchus and Ariadne" (1523). Bacchus quickly and easily descends from the chariot towards the girl. His figure is not only the compositional, but also the dynamic center of the picture. In the group of companions of the young god, in the figure of Ariadne herself, this is a light, natural, but at the same time exquisite dance movement, as if changing, developing and enriching itself.

"Bacchus and Ariadne". 1520-1522. Canvas, oil. National Gallery, London

Titian tries his hand at various pictorial genres, easily assimilating a variety of artistic formats. He paints large altarpieces. In addition to the already mentioned "Assunta", we can name one of the most decorative works of the early period, the composition "Madonna of the Pesaro Family" (1519-1526) for the same church dei Frari. He organizes the composition by juxtaposing a diagonally located group of characters, whose rhythmic axes go in a wide spiral from the foreground into the depth, and powerful vertical columns. Such compositional schemes will find further development in the art of the 17th century, in baroque painting, in particular in the work of Rubens, who generally very carefully studied the heritage of the great Venetian.

"Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro Family". 1519-1526. c. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

And next to the representative solemn canvases in the same years, the artist painted small paintings in which the conflict is revealed through the contrast of the characters of two or three characters. "Denarius of Caesar" (1515-1520) is a classic example of such works. Drama arises due to the comparison of the enlightened image of Christ with the ugly figure of the Pharisee. In a very concise form, this canvas tells about the eternal struggle between good and evil. The plot of the gospel parable is translated into a plan of reflection on the nature of man, on his dignity.

"Denarius of Caesar".1516. Wood, oil. Dresden Art Gallery.

In the 1530s Titian's work is enriched with new shades. The images of the characters become more specific, sometimes unobtrusively interpreted genre motifs appear in his compositions. In the canvas "Venus of Urbino" (1538), the pictorial motif of "Sleeping Venus" by Giorgione is used. But how much more realistic is Titian's interpretation of his model. The image of the ancient goddess is immediately recognizable as a Venetian in the interior of the 16th century. Mythological coloring does not deprive the image of life concreteness.

"Venus of Urbino". About 1538. Canvas, oil. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

Most of the canvas "Entrance to the Temple" (1534-1538) is occupied by the image of the crowd, which is watching the little Mary, climbing the high steps into the temple. Among those present there are important patricians, and people from the people: a woman with a baby in her arms, an old merchant near the steps. These images introduce an element of democracy into the sublime structure of Titian's paintings.

"Introduction to the Temple". 1534-1538. Canvas, oil. Accademia Gallery, Venice.