The Power of Art - Tizian ( Documentary )

tician a man of tremendous ambition he

lived in the age of Dura of Bellini

George Oni Michelangelo and Tintoretto

an age of fierce competition Titian

wants everything commissions profit fame

and fortune to this end he stages an

extraordinary drama which ends in

tragedy he turns his hand to everything

his times require of him religious

paintings portraits of his

contemporaries and mythological tales he

triumphs in every way a living example

of the power of painting of the power of

the painter time has not clouded that

success over the centuries painters of

continuously sought inspiration from his

work

Cezanne said Titian is like a page out

of Shakespeare

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you

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and painting turns into drama a jealous

husband stabs his wife the place Padua

in 1511 Titian is just 20 and the first

signs of violence are emerging in his

work a former pupil of Bellini and of

Giorgio nee he no longer needs a master

in only 13 days he illustrates the power

of faith for the squalid le basilica de

san antonio he stages a drama full of

suspicion jealousy and murder with a

surprising ending saint anthony cures a

young man who has cut off his leg as

punishment for striking his mother

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the witnesses to this miracle are no

longer depicted as mere liturgical props

but as contemporaries of the painter

petition dresses the actors of a 300

year old legend in contemporary clothes

and so brings them to life he employs a

similar device when sent Antony bestows

the gift of speech to the newborn child

so that he can exonerate his mother

suspected of adultery

the mixture of the mundane and the

fantastic reinforcing the face of the

believer and thus strengthening the

power of the church

in Padua Titian provides proof of his

talent you only have to compare his work

with that of his contemporary Jan

Antonio Corona who in the same year

paints this other fresco for the

schooler his figures seem rigid frozen

but Venice provides Titian with a new

dramatic setting

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Venice at that time is a troubled city

as is shown in this painting where scent

marks head is hidden in the shadows a

Venice under the shadow of wars since

1500 and eight and played in 15 for 15 7

and 1510 the painter and art historian

Vasari reports he painted doesn't mark

seated amid the Saints in Santo Spirito

some of the faces are painted in oil and

are executed with great accuracy many

believe this panel was the work of

Giorgio nee in 1510 George Ernie dies in

the play at the age of 33

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Titian and your journey were frequent

collaborators so their paintings are

often indistinguishable was this Madonna

started by George Leone and only

finished by Titian who added the

mountains of his native land

Vasari writes about your journey for

Georgiana's there was no better way of

painting or drawing than to apply his

colors directly onto the paper without

preliminary sketches your journeys

approach in this picture is also adopted

by Titian but such intimacy between two

painters is not possible without

conflict

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Giorgione's death finally sets Titian on

the path to fame but your journeys

example is not enough for Titian he

wants to add an expressive power of his

own he brings the Saints closer together

and gives them the faces of his

contemporaries isn't Brigid not vo

lanter the daughter of the painter

Palmer and isn't sent offs face that of

Titian himself before discovering the

manner and style of Giorgione's work

Titian had learned about the craft and

the chemistry of painting from Giovanni

Bellini at the time the most highly

regarded painting in Venice

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Vasari writes as soon as he discovered

georgie on his method and style Titian

abandoned those of giovanni bellini even

though he had spent a long time on this

virgin by giovanni bellini has the

slightly static grace of icons or

Byzantine mosaics Venice the Gateway to

the Orient

in 1516 on the death of Bellini and

after a great many intrigues Titian

manages to secure the same privileges

from the Senate of Venice that his

former master had enjoyed namely a

hundred and twenty ducats a year to

execute official commissions and paint

the portraits of the doges

artists would see themselves as princes

and like princes they vie with each

other for supremacy and rewards Titian

ambitious skillful and cunning now

covets the fame of the great Roman

artists

on the 25th of March 15 18 at the santa

maria de flag this assumption of the

Virgin is unveiled it causes an outcry

such powerful painting has never before

been seen in Venice a triumph of color

and apostles who behave as if they were

just part of any Venetian crowd jostling

each other in a rather unholy manner for

a better view man angel Saint and God

perform on the same platform a noisy

scene and a challenge to Michelangelo

whose frescoes are familiar from popular

engravings

and Titian lets his faint-hearted

patrons know that an envoy of the

Emperor Maximilian is quite prepared to

buy this painting which they find so

perplexing his blackmail works the

picture remains in Venice and he

receives his payment the crowds of

Venetians who come to look at the

paintings are stunned

tition zEnterprise continues with a

challenge to the divine Raphael in 1521

he gives Luigi Cozzi the part of a

penitent in a setting inspired by

Raphael's Madonna di Fellini or the

patron of this work is neither a

celebrated war hero nor a genius he is a

merchant from Ankara

and despite being the patron as a mere

mortal he must not see the Virgin

earnest and Blasius and sin Francis and

gaze at her out of a votive picture

Titian creates a drop

a fig tree the symbol of original sin

unites the world of the merchant with

the great trading city ruled over by

divine apparitions Titian simply ignores

the towns of Ragusa and Ankara where his

client made his fortune and depicts

Venice his town

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Venice in all her glory in December 15

26 Titian completes this picture of

Admiral Pizarro who defeated the Turks

in 1502

this sacra conversazione a between

mortals and saints takes place in the

splendid theater of the frothy basilica

usually these holy conversations aim to

give the spectator the impression that

he too is taking part but here by

contrast the protagonists are on show

purely for their own benefit the

Pizarro's do not share their privileges

they put on a performance simply to

display the magnificence of their

clothes this painting is a votive

picture at the same time it celebrates a

victory and pays tribute to a noble

family it lends expression to the pride

of a city at a time when her supremacy

is already being challenged kishen's

position too is being challenged he is

up against a formidable rival Pordenone

the art historian Ridolfi reports

Pordenone was commissioned to decorate

the chapel of the church of san rocco

where he depicted the transfiguration

rumor has it that while he worked he at

all times kept his sword and his shield

by his side for fear of being attacked

by ditions acolytes

Titian gained the upper hand however

over this painter who had already killed

a man in a fight by presenting to the

Venetians in April 1530 the most violent

work some pita martyr

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pordenone dies in Ferrara

in 1539 at the court of Alfonso d'Este

II his sudden death gives rise to

rumours that he was poisoned in 1877

Tisch ins work is destroyed in the fire

that sweeps through the church of san

giovanni a san paolo this engraving is

the only reminder

in 1534 tition stages another theatrical

scene complete with props scenery and

actors Vasari rights for the scuola

Santa Maria della carita he painted a

Madonna climbing the steps to the temple

along with all sorts of portraits drawn

from nature

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for this painting the same instructions

apply that 60 years later Shakespeare

has Hamlet give his actors he not to

tame neither but let your own discretion

be your tutor suit the action to the

word the word to the action with this

special observance that you are step not

the modesty of nature for anything so

ever done is from the purpose of playing

whose end both at the first and now was

and is to hold as twere the mirror up to

nature to show virtue her own feature

scorn her own image and the very age and

body of the time his form and pressure

now this overdone or come tardy off

though it makes the unskillful laugh

cannot but make the judicious grieve the

censure of which one must in your

allowance away a whole theater of others

Zenoss theater and trading center serves

as a setting for ako MA

it is commissioned by the Flemish

merchants Giovanni Donna

Titian paints this okay Elmo in 1543 the

same year Copernicus puts forward his

theory that the Earth revolves around

the Sun the church determined to

Shepherd her flock back into the fold

takes a very strong stand against these

revolutionary ideas Titian fills this

scene with Venetians Petra a Latino poet

elem assists and self-appointed

flagellate er of princes is cast in the

role of pilot bringing forward the

flagellated Christ

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the Church of Santa Maria della salute a

is built by the Venetians between 1631

and 1681 to thank the Virgin Mary for

having put an end to the plague of 1630

it holds a number of paintings

originally painted by Titian for the

santo spirito church

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Vasari arrives in 1541 Titian painted

the descent of the holy spirit among the

Apostles for the high altar of the Santo

Spirito order in Venice but the painting

soon deteriorated and after a good deal

of protest Titian had to do it again

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he may therefore be the first painter to

restore his own work but over the years

time inevitably has taken its revenge

the painter agenda lacroix comments

imagine these extraordinary works when

the delicacy of touch the blending the

veracity and the incredible brilliance

of the colors were still fresh and the

ravages of time and the inevitable

accidents that occur had not yet taken

their toll

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so many tissues lost destroyed damaged

in 1571 the last supper in the convent

of San Giovanni San Paolo is burnt

in 1577 for other paintings are

destroyed in a fire of the Doge's Palace

and in 1578 the Nativity in the basilica

of san marco is burned

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and Titian paints fire as if to exorcise

it

in the Baroque decor of the Church of

the Jesuits built at the beginning of

the 18th century a painting of gloomy

darkness and fire illuminates his tragic

theatre

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titian stages a story from the legenda

Albea the golden legend

there it is written that sant lawrence

as he was being roasted alive said to

his torturer i'm roasted enough on this

side turn me over

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the light of faith vanquishing darkness

and to the threat submit to the gods or

you will spend the night in torment

Lawrence replies my knight knows no

darkness all is radiant with light

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eight years later Titian sends another

version of this painting to philip ii of

spain where the flames of the

Inquisition are being found

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this 15th century engraved and gilded

silver ariados is only shown to the

Venetians twice a year on the 3rd and

the 15th of August the rest of the year

it is concealed behind a Transfiguration

by Titian the painting rises as the

curtain does in the theater

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Vasari reports for another altar in the

same Church of San Salvatore a Titian

painted an Annunciation but he did not

think highly of his later works although

they had their merits they are not as

perfect as the others

posterity shares neither Titian Norva

saris opinion this is the said

Annunciation

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the light of the Holy Spirit descending

from the sky amid a chaos of clouds and

angels illuminates another aspect of

Titian Strama

the Virgin looks terrified behind her

the sky blazes

for Titian who is over 75 years old

painting at the service of religion no

longer holds any hope or consolation it

expresses terror mortal terror it's a

long way from that Annunciation painted

more than 20 years earlier far from the

humble acceptance of the Virgin was only

touched by a thin ray of light

petition Venice is not only a theatre

licked by sweetness and sensuality she

also has a darker side and when old age

finally overcomes the painter his works

become dominated by the depiction of

death

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tition portrays himself as joseph of

arimathea holding the body of the dead

Christ

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[Laughter]

he sends this entombment

to philip ii of spain in 1559 seven

years later he sends another version of

this painting to the king philip is

obsessed by death and surrounds himself

with the rotting bodies of his ancestors

in the still unfinished Escorial

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jacopo Palmer writes Titian regarded his

paintings as though they were his mortal

enemies his later work deals

predominantly with the death of Christ

with pain with the Pieta he paints this

guitar for a chapel of the Ferrari the

sanctuary where he wishes to be buried

but he dies on the 27th of August 1576

jacopo Palmer the younger completes the

painting when Titian dies the plague is

ravaging Venice once again we know

nothing of his burial this tomb designed

by Antonio Canova in the middle of the

19th century is empty

tsch ins date of birth is unknown

was it 14 77 1488 for 1490 but we know

his place of birth PA vide Kaduri a

small town in the Dolomites which chose

to become part of the republic of venice

he came from a well-to-do family of

landowners and notables

why then did the young cat Yano Bocelli

Oh set off for Venice who decided that

he would be a painter only one thing is

certain his love for his native land he

chooses a house in Venice so that he can

look out on the Dolomites

and his journey from PABT Kaduri to

venice appears also in the background of

the st. Christopher commissioned by the

Doge and Dre ugly T for his private

apartments

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to further his reputation Titian

sometimes leaves his beloved Venice for

nearly 15 years between 15 16 and 1530

he's on the best of terms with the court

of Ferrara

here the spirit of the Renaissance

flourishes and antique mythology is

undergoing a revival petition

recognition that Ferrara guarantees

certain acceptance by the elite of his

century this festival of Venus of 1519

takes its theme from descriptions by

philosophers of paintings from Greek

villas near Naples paintings lost

forever

kitchens only source of inspiration here

is a description from ancient Greece

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likewise for this backer now from 1520

for painted for Alfonso d'Este a Duke of

Ferrara humanists and scholars gathered

his court and Titian offers them puzzles

dreams which they recognize he

associates the description by

philosophers of a river of wine given by

Dionysus to the Islanders of anthos with

a homage to dance and music this drunken

scene enables him to show everything

that inspires and delights the

Renaissance about antiquity

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between 15:23 and 15:29 chiton

repeatedly visits the court of the

Gonzaga's at Mantua

his ambition his role are the same as in

Ferrara but here he first has to make

his presence felt the court prides

itself on the works of Andrea Mantegna

who died in 15-6

and the Gonzaga's are enthusiastic

collectors the portraits Titian paints

for this court reflected in all its

splendor

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Isabella d'Este day is already over 60

when she Commission's this portrait

however this work is a complete lie it

is a copy of a portrait by a certain

Francia painted 25 years earlier

portraits that is this one of Federigo

Isabella son established ich ins

world-renowned

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in 1530 Titian is invited to Bologna

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here Charles the fifth is crowned

emperor on 25th of February 1530

unfortunately he never keeps his promise

to donate to the Cathedral a work

commemorating this event here the

highest temporal power meets his equal

in the world of art it's a rather

curious picture that Titian presents to

the Emperor who never in fact sat for it

but asked Titian to copy a portrait by

another artist

Jakob size Nega this work yet another

copy brings Titian unparalleled honors

for a painter count Palatine Knight of

the Golden Spur

on the 24th of April 1547 the Emperor

defeats the Protestants at Milberg the

victorious monarch leader of

Christianity is depicted here as son

George slaying the dragon of heresy

Charles v is heard to proclaim on his

victory I came I saw and God conquered

in 1548 Titian joins the Emperor at

Augsburg it is said that one day Charles

bent down to pick up a brush that the

painter had dropped just as Alexander

the Great had picked up a brush for a

pail ease the first court painter in

history

titian also paints the son of charles v

philip and what does it matter that is

obsolete amma is no more than a symbolic

defense it is the emblem of power after

all

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Philips portrait is sent to his future

wife Mary Tudor who fortunately falls in

love with it

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princes victorious or defeated artisans

willing subjects francis the first is

defeated at pavía in 1525 if the king

appears to have only one arm and is

shown in profile it's because Titian

only had a medallion by benvenuto

cellini to work from John Frederick of

Saxony is defeated at mulberry and kept

prisoner at Augsburg and it's none other

than the victorious chance of fifth who

Commission's this portrait of the fallen

rival and the Pope is Titian painting

Julius a second or borrowing from

Raphael who had painted the Pope's

portrait in 1511

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Kishen builds a legend for himself he

single-handedly invents public relations

parity no the writer and self-styled

secretary of the world acts as his

formidable agent

Vasari writes Pierrot a dirty no the

most renowned poet of our time came to

Venice before the sacking of Rome and

became petitions friend it was an honor

and a blessing petition for a dirty no

broadcast his name wherever his works

were read in particular among the mighty

princes and arity no rights to one of

his correspondence I tried to depict

human nature with as much truth as

Titian does when he paints a face and to

the mean handed Charles offif what is

the use of Titian brush which he uses

for your pleasure and what is the use of

my pen which are used to honor you if

the imperial treasury treats us in such

a miserly fashion

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in Venice artists also have to be

merchants

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what do these images of strangers posing

for the camera mean they are not

portraits Titian makes us see something

else

as a Latino confirms

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is he not sublime is he not admirable

this genius who through his masterly use

of light and shade endowed the image

with body and soul

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whether he works from a live model

another painting or just a medallion

Titian always creates more than a mere

likeness his portraits reflect the

spirit of the person

painters like Velazquez Rembrandt MANET

and bacon all wanted to discover the

secret of these portraits Vasari writes

there was not a single person of rank

neither prince nor great lady who did

not have their portrait painted with

great skill by Titian

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you

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and what is it matter if we can no

longer identify all the sovereigns

clerics merchants doctors and courtesans

who modeled for Titian Titian sport

rates remain

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titian meets Vesalius a surgeon and

professor of anatomy who risks being

accused of heresy because he D sects

corpses in Basel in 1543 Vesalius also

publishes the first complete textbook on

the human anatomy was Titian the

illustrator his signature only appears

in the later edition of 1670

did he perhaps refuse to sign these

drawings in 1543 out of prudence did the

publisher of the 1670 Edition forged the

signature whatever the answers drawing

bodies leads one to reflect on death in

a remote part of extra Medora lies the

monastery of San Haruna Moda you stay

Vasari reports charles v commissioned

him to do a large rear dose representing

the trinity he followed the orders of

the Emperor who having reached the

summit of his military and political

ambitions began to show a desire to

withdraw from the world which he did to

die a true god-fearing Christian anxious

about his salvation the Emperor told

Titian that he wanted to put this

painting in the monastery where he was

to spend the rest of his days from his

room charles v here's mass and

contemplates ditions painting of the

holy trinity lying on his deathbed he

prays and meditates on the painting that

is to survive him

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it shows a crown discarding an emperor

and an empress in a state of penitence

a theater of faith and terror

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forgotten is the armor forgotten the

battles Afonso al Veloz Marquess of

Vasco and Pescara hanging his troops is

forever sight

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all that remains are dreams

and allegories painted to commemorate

the victory of the west over the Turks

at Lepanto on the 7th of October 1570

one religion assisted by Spain is a

fantasy

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Philip ii offering victory the Infanta

is an allegory employing all manner of

theatrical effects while his prudence is

pure enigma is it a portrait of three

different men

or is it Titian self-portrait at three

different stages of his life above

images of the wolf the lion and the dog

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the Renaissance is rich in mystery

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kishen's painting arouses carnal desire

as well as religious fervour with equal

success

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but here flora courtesan and Roman

goddess of spring poses like a saint

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while the st. Mary Magdalen the

repentant sinner radiates human

sensuality

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you

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the theater of the renaissance reduces

prayer and sensual pleasure to a common

denominator

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this scene is being enacted in the

private apartments of the Duke of Urbino

the bouquet of flowers the servants the

pot of Myrtle and the dog lying at the

feet of the woman are all symbols of

conjugal fidelity

this sensual Venus was probably

commissioned to celebrate the marriage

of Geeta Baldo della Rovere a and

Eleonora de Gonzaga

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by 1553 Titian comes to call these

erotic mythology's palsy or poetry these

works are a complete departure from

Venetian tradition Titian and his studio

produce ever new versions variations

changing the organ players the

landscapes the position of the dog the

bearing of Cupid Venus again and again

and numerous versions of dan I whom's

use showers with gold

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Vasari tells this story one day

Michelangelo visited Titian who was in

Rome and sword a naked Dan I which the

artist had just finished he complimented

him on it as was the custom in the

presence of the artist after his visit

Michelangelo praised Titian skill

profusely he said that he very much

admired his color and his style but that

it was a pity that in Venice they did

not learn to draw properly and the

painters did not have a better technique

what do the reservations of the

Michelangelo matter to a Titian the

divine gold showering down on Dan I also

fills the painters pockets

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here Titian knighted by Charles v

portrays himself wearing the golden

chain given to him by the Emperor why

should he care about criticism he sells

well in 1568 nikolas tokyo complains the

worst of it is that he demands prices

that are not only high but even higher

than before despite the fact that says

the whole of venice knows he can no

longer see his hand trembles and he

cannot finish anything without the help

of his pupils Titian adds a stroke here

and there but his works are sold as if

they were done by himself which is as

deceitful as can be

this final pose II painted at the age of

80 is enough to silence any malicious

attacks

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tsch ins drama has reached its violent

climax the theme is no different than

nymph and a shepherd it is a story of

the love affair between Paris and inany

who are doomed to die the whole painting

suggests tragedy the terrible foreboding

of the drama to come

here in a scene from Tarquinius and

Lucretia painted in 1570 the drama

unfolds in front of our eyes

as it did in this picture painted 55

years earlier

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violence to the end violence in his last

painting the punishment of Marcia's from

the play the death of Titian by Hugo von

hoffmanstal the page the master has

ordered us to fetch the paintings from

the Garden Room tit C&L Oh what does he

want the page he says he wants to see

them those old pitiful faded paintings

he wants to compare them to the new

picture he's working on he says that now

difficult things have become clear to

him he says his mind is full of

incredible lights and until now he was

but a pale dauber should we obey Him

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you

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