Titian
His Life and the Golden Age of Venice
SHEILA HALE
In memory of John
Titian was the sun amid small stars not only among the Italians but all the painters of the world.
GIOVANNI PAOLO LOMAZZO,
IDEA DEL TEMPIO DELLA PITTURA, 1590
A work of art is an act of cooperation, often of reluctant cooperation like an awkward marriage, between the author and the kind of society he lives in. When we know something of the character of this aggravating partner, that which was once stiff and monumental becomes fluid and alive.
V. S. PRITCHETT, IN MY GOOD BOOKS, 1942
CONTENTS
Titian’s Family Tree
Maps
TWO - The Most Triumphant City
FIVE - The Fondaco, Giorgione and the Modern Manner
SEVEN - ‘Some Little Bit of Fame’
EIGHT - ‘His Industrious Brush’: Pentimenti and Portraits
ONE - Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara
THREE - A New Doge, a River of Wine and Marriage
FIVE - The Triumvirate of Taste
SEVEN - The Most Beautiful Thing in Italy
ONE - The Portrait of Cornelia
TWO - The House in Biri Grande
THREE - The Most Powerful Ruler in the World
SEVEN - An Old Battle and a New War
ONE - Aretino Plays Pontius Pilate
TWO - The Last Great Pope of the Renaissance
SEVEN - The Prince and the Painter