Titian Hardcover – October 31, 2013

This book was a headache to read. I have many art books and this is one of the worst. It is written for Museum Curators and not for someone genuinely interested in the life and works of Titian. So much of the book was focused on the history of each individual painting and who owned it. It would have been better if the book focused on the analyzing of the individual paintings. That is the structure and look of each of the paintings and how it relates to other artists before and contemporary with Titian. The photography is good. The reading was terrible. There were several typos.

Simple book of paintings by Titian. Extremely helpful for painters who need material for a Master Copies class.

This monumental exhibit on Titian (c.1490-1576), 16th century Venetian painter, took place on March 5-June 16, 2013 at the internationally renowned and exclusive Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. The exhibit, the 35th event staged in the 12 years of this site's history, proudly charts the best of cultural and artistic achievements through the illustrious and productive 70-year career of the Renaissance's "Prince of Painters." Numerous sponsors and lenders of museums, galleries, and heritage sites throughout Europe and the U.S. have contributed to the comprehensive scope of the exhibit. Chief editor, curator, and organizer Giovanni C.F. Villa has worked closely with expert advisors and scholars to illuminate the brilliant life and stunning portrayals of supremely convincing naturalism, expressive personality, glowing tonal variety, transitions and contrasts of light, and strong, unified narrative from "an artist of few equals." This dedicated involvement has received the highest praise and support from Gianni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome, and Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic. So the accompanying expertly researched and magnificently illustrated catalog companion to the exhibit, reveals the utmost ambition, enthusiasm, and energy in celebrating the complete success of such an important project.Titian's most famous masterpieces are recognized as beautiful and insightful creations and innovations. These images, viewed from a detailed perspective, are a focal point for further elaborate discussions about the "overwhelmingly impressive" (73) aspect of Titian's "entirely new pictorial tradition." (21) For example, the catalog emphasizes the superb light and dark simplicity and intensity of the portrait "Man with a Glove" (1524-25), the enigmatic philosophy of "Sacred and Profane Love" (1516-17), the burst of color as celebration in "Bacchanal of the Andrians" (1519-20), and the artist's stunning experimental expressiveness in religious imagery, pictorial possibility, and powerful choice of presentation. Examples in this category include the singularly quiet and harmonious "Annunciation" (c.1535), the radical mix of traditional symmetry, unexpected diagonal movement, and expertly integrated communication of human and divine in the "Madonna of Pesaro" (1519-26), and the warm, ethereal, gleaming, golden hues and densely accented spontaneous gestures of the figures in the "Assumption of the Virgin" (1518).This catalog also succeeds in "reconstructing Titian's personality" based on his own documented choices for freedom of thought and action, self-confidence in creativity, a desire to "understand the hearts of men" a wish to display beautifully feminine ideals, and his lifelong quest to live honorably, "practically and well." (34). Aspects of Titian's favorable destiny are attributed to his conquest of color, "action painting" with brushes and fingers, expressiveness with reflective oil paints, "authentic movement" in imagery, and sincere devotion to the art of painting. Titian's accomplishments are also linked to his production of monumental, dramatic, and individualized images. Such images were made to impress and consolidate the favor and esteem of aristocratic patrons and rulers. Some of Titian's notable supporters included Charles V, Duke Alfonoso d'Este of Ferrara, Maria of Austria, the governor of Milan, the viceroy of Naples, Federigo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Philip II of Spain, numerous popes including Pope Paul III, governing "doges" or dukes of Venice and others.Titian's work was a mirror of nature and also of his life as a whole. He embraced his immense skill as an internationally renowned Venetian master with full integrity, intensity, and vividness. His daring, visionary, and emotional agendas and powerful engagement with the spectator, have produced images imbued with the velvety brilliance of an eternal future as well as the immensely approachable, active, and concrete world of reality.