crush by his excellence and knowledge of the world in converse with
gentlemen." There is not a writer of the day who does not acclaim his
genius. Titian was undoubtedly very fond of money, and had amassed a
good fortune. He was constantly asking for favours, and had pensions and
allowances from royal patrons. Lavinia, when she married, brought her
husband a dowry of 1400 ducats. He had painted the portraits of the
Doges with tolerable regularity, but all through his life complaints
were heard of his neglect of the work of the Hall of Grand Council.
Occupied as he was with the work of his foreign patrons, he had
systematically neglected the conditions enjoined by his possession of a
Broker's patent, and the Signoria suddenly called on him to refund the
salary amounting to over 100 ducats a year, for the twenty years during
which he had drawn it without performing his promise, while they
prepared to instal Pordenone, who had lately appeared as his bitter
rival, in his stead. Though Titian must have been making large sums of
money at this time, his expenses were heavy, and he could not calmly
face the obligation to repay such a sum as 2000 ducats at the same time
that he lost the annual salary, nor was it pleasant to be ousted by a
second-rate rival. His easy remedy was, however, in his own hands; he
set to work and soon completed a great canvas of the "Battle of Cadore,"
which, though it is only known to us from a contemporary print and a
drawing by Rubens, evidently deserved Vasari's verdict of being the
finest battlepiece ever placed in the hall. The movement and stir he
contrives to give with a small number of figures is astonishing. The
fortress burns upon the hill-side, a regiment advancing with lances and
pennons produces the illusion that it is the vanguard of a great army,
the desperate conflict by the narrow bridge realises all the terrors of
war. It was an atonement for his long period of neglect, but it was not
till 1439 [TN: Pordenone died in 1539] that, Pordenone having suddenly
died, the Signoria relented and reinstated Titian in his Broker's
patent. One of his later paintings for the State still keeps its place,
"The Triumph of Faith," in which Doge Grimani, a splendid, steel-clad
form with flowing mantle, kneels before the angelic apparition of Faith,
who holds a cross, which angels and cherubs help her to support.
Beneath the clouds are seen the Venetian fleet, the Ducal Palace, and
the Campanile. It is an allegory of Grimani's life; his defeat and
captivity are symbolised by the cross and chalice, and the magnificent
figure of St. Mark with the lion is introduced to show that the Doge
believes himself to owe his freedom to the saint's intercession. The
prophet and standard-bearer at the sides were added by Marco Vecellio.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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