A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, ArchitectureWaters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Art -- History
The works of Titian are very seldom sold. One subject which he oftentimes
repeated was that of "Danae" with the shower of gold falling about her;
one of these was purchased by the Emperor of Russia for six hundred
thousand francs. One of the most important of his religious pictures was
that of "St. Peter Martyr;" this was burned in the Church of SS. Giovanni
e Paolo in Venice in 1868. An excellent copy of it had been for a long
time in the Museum of Florence, and this was presented to the Venetians in
order to repair their loss as far as possible. Victor Amadeus of Sardinia
presented nine pictures by Titian to the Duke of Marlborough, and these
were all destroyed in 1861 when the chateau of Blenheim was burned. Kugler
says: "In the multifariousness of his powers Titian takes precedence of
all other painters of his school; indeed, there is scarcely a line of art
which in his long and very active life he did not enrich." His last work
was not quite completed by himself, and is now in the Academy of Venice.
It is a Pieta, and although the hand of ninety-eight years guided the
brush uncertainly, yet it has the wonderful light this master threw around
his figures, and the whole is conceived with his accustomed animation.
The pupils and followers of Titian were too numerous to be spoken of one
by one, and none of them were so great as to require their mention in
detail here; yet they were so good that, while the other schools of Italy
were decreasing in importance during the sixteenth century, that of
Venice was flourishing, and some great masters still existed there. Among
these was JACOPO ROBUSTI (1512-1594), who was called, and is best known as
Tintoretto, which name was given him because his father was a dyer. He
studied under Titian for a time, and then he attempted to follow Michael
Angelo, and it is said that his motto was, "The coloring of Titian, the
drawing of Michael Angelo." His best pictures are slightly treated, and
others are coarse and unfinished in the manner of painting. His portraits
seem to be his best works, probably because they are more carefully
finished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account