Venetian Rivals
Posted by duckarto | Posted in Articles | Posted on 09-03-2010
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The 16th century – the Cinquecento – marks the golden age of Venetian painting. Today the canvases of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese may seem like the ultimate Old Master art, yet this exciting exhibit (subtitled “Rivals in Renaissance Venice”) aims to show how contemporary these works once were: experimental, bold, and even shocking.
Titian (c.1488-1576) was the supreme figure in Venetian art from 1515 on. His extremely long life meant that the younger painters Tintoretto (1518-1594) and Veronese (1528-1588) overlapped creatively and professionally with him for nearly 40 years.
By significantly grouping two or three canvases, curator Frederick Ilchman has lovingly re-created, through carefully chosen juxtapositions, the heated atmosphere of artistic creation in the 16th-century republic, showing how these younger men forged their own distinct painterly styles by responding to Titian and each other, and demonstrating in the process how competition inspires the achievements of even the greatest artists.
At the start of the show we see two religious pictures, one by the young Titian and the other by his teacher Bellini. These are examples of a popular Venetian genre, known as a Sacra Conversazione, a “sacred conversation” among the Virgin, Child, and assorted saints. Bellini’s panel has a ravishingly beautiful palette, but the holy protagonists gaze left or out at us rather than at each other and seem frozen, aloof, disconnected.
Titian, by contrast, invites us into a silent narrative. On the right, St. Dominic and the donor seem to have just arrived, drawing the gazes of the Virgin and Child toward the fervent supplicants. We see Titian building on the broad and firm foundation of his teacher while developing a highly original way of conceiving and dramatizing his subject. We are especially taken by the handsome, idealized Saint Dominic, and the sensitive face of the donor qualifies as an early Titian portrait of distinction.
For it was in the field of portraiture that Titian marked out his claim to fame. With his magical ability to paint men and women of high rank not as they were but as they wished to be, Titian endowed his sitters with the nobility, power, and dignity that a ruler must have but that may have eluded many of them in real life. He thereby established the conventions of aristocratic and kingly portraiture.
A prime example of Titian’s portraiture is the closeup of the 74-year-old Paul III, the last of the Renaissance popes, the reluctant reformer of the church, and the patron of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. Sitting on his throne, he seems to have just turned to look at us from atop a mountain of crushed velvet, his dark, arresting eyes full of reason and the will to power.
After confronting Titian’s portrayal, one cannot conceive a more monumental, direct, or forceful image of this paragon of spiritual and worldly power. With this work, the artist won international fame the sort of which had never before been conferred on an artist. Other great portrait painters such as El Greco and Velázquez learned a great deal from him, but it is arguable if any later painter ever surpassed this portrait.
Titian’s mid-career success around 1645 with the international elite opened up opportunities in Venice for younger men. First among these was Tintoretto, whose smoldering self-portrait announces his arrival as an ambitious, confident risk-taker. While Titian brooded over his compositions for months and even years, Tintoretto marketed himself as a kind of anti-Titian, painting large canvases at great speed while cutting prices and even giving his work away to the various Venetian confraternities that were so much a part of the Serene Republic’s social network.
One of the important patrons he sought out was the brilliant satirist, writer, and publicist Aretino, offering this close friend of Titian a painting for his ceiling with the self-referential Flaying of Marsyas, a learned and cheeky calling card that announced his challenge to the older master.
As a way of further differentiating himself, Tintoretto began a long study of Florentine design, going so far as to display in his studio the motto “the draftsmanship of Michelangelo, the coloring of Titian.” Tintoretto’s Baptism of Christ, with the towering, muscular bodies of Christ and the Baptist, is a brilliant example of this synthesis.
The arrival of Veronese 10 years later further turned up the thermostat of the already hothouse atmosphere of the Venice art scene. The younger man modeled himself on Titian, while the wily Titian used Veronese to undercut the hated Tintoretto. From his youth, Veronese made his name as an opulent colorist and he was to grow into the master of enormous feast scenes painted on canvas for the walls of refectories.
If visitors still need an added incentive to attend a show filled with the constant parleys of painterly rivalry, they should be more than satisfied with the mythological nudes. Venice in this period was famous for its courtesans and prostitutes who numbered in the thousands, making it the “brothel of Europe.” It is no surprise that highly sophisticated depictions of female sensuality were first developed there. While it was a Florentine painter, Botticelli, who first monumentalized the Renaissance female nude in the 15th century with his Birth of Venus, it was Titian and his short-lived colleague Giorgione who reimagined her as reclining, voluptuous, and earthly.
With his Danae, Titian’s magic ability to turn paint into living flesh is astonishing. The artist breathes new life into the ancient myth of the young princess and beloved of Zeus who is shut up in a high tower by her fearful father. We apprehend the umber, soft gold, deep red, and cream tones of painting as an invitation to sexual desire, yet still are attracted to the individuality of the woman anticipating her lover’s arrival in the form of soft golden rain. Even his archrival Michelangelo had praise for this work’s life-giving vitality when he saw it in Rome.
Responding to Titian, Tintoretto produced his Susannah and the Elders. The biblical story of the virtuous wife slandered by two prurient old men offered the artist an opportunity to create his own luminous female nude in a paradisal setting. We notice the bald heads of the men hidden away in the left hand corner only with some effort, but once we do, we appreciate the dramatic bite of this calm-before-the-storm composition even more.
The show ends with homage to the late painting styles of our trio. Titian once again sets the highest possible standard for his younger rivals. In his Tarquin and Lucretia, the aged master returns to his great theme of eros to show its darkest dimensions. In what is undoubtedly the most brutal rape scene in all large-scale paintings of the Renaissance, he demonstrates how this medium can rise to the heights of tragic utterance previously reserved for dramatic poetry.
Tintoretto offers an even more shocking composition, with the already-nude Tarquin ripping the necklace off his victim’s neck. As Lucretia’s pearls fall onto the floor they become a metaphor for her impending loss of virtue, just as her tears will be transmuted into jewels of honor.
Tintoretto outlasted both his rivals by a decade and has the last word in this show. His Florentine contemporary, the painter and historian Giorgio Vasari, called him the most extraordinary brain in the history of painting. His aged self-portrait is an uncompromising picture of an exhausted old man whose mind continues to rage.
The rivalry of the Venetian golden age constitutes one of the richest chapters in the history of art. Together, Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese created an unparalleled body of work, opened up new avenues of aesthetic expression, and forged a golden chain of influence that runs from El Greco, Rembrandt, and Velázquez to Willem de Kooning and Lucian
By: Joseph Phelan (artcyclopedia)
Flower tattoos are always in demand due to their vibrant colors and delicate nature, especially amongst women. There are so many flowers available that each of them can be used as a tattoo design! Another reason why flower tattoos are popular is that these tattoos can be easily modified and personalized to one’s wish. Like for example, if you want to make your rose tattoo to be extensive, you can add different designs like vines and butterflies to it, which will actually enhance the beauty of the flower! Talking about hibiscus flower tattoos, hibiscus flower tattoo design belongs to Hawaiian tattoo art. To understand better about hibiscus flower tattoo designs, let us first take a look at Hawaiian tattoo art. ‘Kakau’ is what tattooing is called in Hawaii and it has a long history. Hawaiian tattoo designs were and still are mostly based on natural forces like water, animals, flowers etc. Along with these, tribal tattoos are also a major part in Hawaiian tattoo art. Tribal tattoos are incorporated with various other Hawaiian designs, hibiscus flower is one of the major ones. This was a little about Hawaiian tattoo art, let us take a look at hibiscus flower tattoos now.
Rose tattoos are not only popular among womenfolk, but also with the menfolk. As a matter of fact, rose tattoos top the list of tattoo designs. People have always chosen to get these designs tattooed for a very long time. One reason, which makes the rose tattoo very popular is the symbolism attached to it. Roses are synonymous with love. From the ancient times, roses have had many meanings apart from love attached to them. These rose tattoos can be made in different colors, such as red, pink, blue, black rose tattoo, etc. In this article, we will read about the blue rose tattoo.
The most common meaning attached to a rose tattoo is that of beauty. For a number of tattoo aficionados, a rose represents both inner as well as outer beauty. If thorns are present on the tattoo, it simply means, that the person does not place a lot of emphasis on the outer beauty and is only concerned about the inner beauty of the person.
Tattoos have become an integral part of youth culture. Almost every teenager dreams of getting a tattoo done. And maximum of them do actually get one in their lifetime. Some people might wonder as to how can people get a tattoo done when they know that the process of removing a tattoo is quite difficult. But tattoo lovers are ready to go through any amount of pain for a dazzling, unique tattoo design! But as the process is quite painful and also costly, one should always do at least a bit of research before finalizing a tattoo design. If you do not have time for research and all, you can simply choose from popular tattoo designs. Like the cherry blossom tattoo design. Though it is a common conception that only girls get a cherry tattoo done, it is not so. There are also many cherry blossom tattoo designs that can be done by guys also. Before moving to cherry blossom tattoo designs, lets take a look at the meaning of cherry blossom tattoos.
On a woman’s body there are a few places that can be thought of as sensual. Although this varies from culture to culture, many consider the most sensitive areas to be the nape of the neck and the infamous lower back. With that being said, it’s really not hard to see why lower back tattoos have become so popular over the years.
The ease to show or hide lower back tattoos has helped to increase popularity, as well as the desire, or sensuality. When a woman tells someone, especially a man, that she has a lower back tattoo – the mind often wonders. Lower back tattoos create a sensual and tantalizing appeal. Normally, these tattoos are done around the waist line. While part of it may be hidden by a women’s birthday suit – there may very well be a part of it showing as well. For lovers, a lower back tattoo can be very sensual and sexual, a secret that is shared only between the two.
it perfectly to the curves of the female back and natural curves of her hips. The lower back tattoo helps to accentuate an already breathtaking part of the female anatomy and enhance an area that is well known for its sensuality.
Generally, the image of the snake is considered to represent a negative character. The prevailing opinion in Japan is however void of any influence of the biblical association of the snake with sin. The snake is an image that is very commonly found in the art of tattooing in Japan.
es the regenerative nature that life possesses. History reveals that snakes were commonly used in religious rites in Japan. Wisdom and healing were some of the most common attributes that the snake was considered to symbolize.
Fish Koi Tattoos Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos Design. Fish Koi Tattoos Meaning and Symbolism.
lors of them lend themselves to a tattoos.