,,masterpieces    ,,in ,,colour         
,,edited ,,by - -    ,t4 ,,leman ,,hare 
,,titian      #adgg 787-#aegf           
,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour ,,series   
,,artist4                  ,,author4    
,,velazquez4              ,s4 ,l4       
,,bensusan4    ,,reynolds4              
,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4    ,,turner4        
,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4    ,,romney4        
,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4    ,,greuze4        
,,alys ,,eyre ,,macklin4                
,,botticelli4             ,,henry ,b4   
,,binns4    ,,rossetti4                 
,,lucien ,,pissarro4    ,,bellini4      
,,george ,,hay4    ,,fra ,,angelico4    
,,james ,,mason4    ,,rembrandt4        
,,josef ,,israels4    ,,leighton4       
,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4    ,,raphael4       
,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4    ,,holman ,,hunt4
            ,,mary ,e4 ,,coleridge4     
,,titian4                 ,s4 ,l4       
,,bensusan4    ,,millais4               
,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4    ,,carlo ,,dolci4 
,,george ,,hay4    ,,gainsborough4      
,,max ,,rothschild4    ,,tintoretto4    

,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4    ,,luini4         
,,james ,,mason4    ,,franz ,,hals4     
,,edgcumbe ,,staley4    ,,van ,,dyck4   
,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4    ,,leonardo ,,da
 ,,vinci4      ,m4 ,w4 ,,brockwell4     
,,rubens4                 ,s4 ,l4       
,,bensusan4    ,,whistler4              
,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4    ,,holbein4      
,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4    ,,burne-,,jones4 
,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4    ,,vig,e ,,le     
,,brun4          ,c4 ,,haldane          
,,macfall4    ,,chardin4                
,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4    ,,fragonard4    
,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4    ,,memlinc4  
,w4 ,h4 ,j4  ,j4 ,c4 ,,weale4           
,,constable4              ,c4 ,,lewis   
,,hind4    ,,raeburn4                   
,,james ,l4 ,,caw4    ,,john ,s4        
,,sargent4        ,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4  
,,lawrence4               ,s4 ,l4       
,,bensusan4    ,d,,rer4                 
,h4 ,e4 ,a4 ,,furst4    ,,millet4       
,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4    ,,watteau4     
,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4    ,,hogarth4       
,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4    ,,murillo4       

,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4    ,,watts4         
,w4 ,,loftus ,,hare4    ,,ingres4       
,a4 ,j4 ,,finberg4      ,others in      
,preparation4          ,illustration3   
,,plate ,i4--,,the ,,duchess ,,of       
,,urbino4 ,frontispiece    7,in the     
,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence7    ,this   
portrait of the ,duchess of ,urbino from
 the ,uffizi must not be  confused with 
the portrait of the ,duchess in the     
,pitti ,palace4 ,the  sitter here is    
,eleonora ,gonzaga1 ,duchess of ,urbino1
 and the portrait  was painted somewhere
 between the years #aecf and #aech at a 
period when  the master's art had       
ripened almost to the point of its      
highest  achievement4                   
,,titian      ,,by ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan   
,,illustrated ,,with ,,eight            
,,reproductions ,,in ,,colour           
,illustration3 ,,in ,,sempiternum4      
,,london3 ,t4 ,c4  ,e4 ,c4 ,,jack       
,,new ,,york3 ,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes  
,,co4            ,,list ,,of            
,,illustrations        ,plate       ,i4 

,the ,duchess ,of ,urbino               
,frontispiece            ,in the ,uffizi
 ,gallery1 ,florence                    
,page      ,,ii4 ,la ,bella             
#ad            ,in the ,pitti ,palace1  
,florence       ,,iii4 ,the ,entombment 
#bd            ,in the ,louvre          
,,iv4 ,the ,holy ,family                
#cd            ,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1
 ,florence         ,v4 ,the ,marriage of
 ,st4 ,catherine               #dj      
,in the ,pitti ,palace1 ,florence       
,,vi4 ,flora                            
#ej            ,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1
 ,florence       ,,vii4 ,sacred and     
,profane ,love                     #fj  
,in the ,borghese ,palace1 ,rome        
,,viii4 ,the ,holy ,family              
#gj            ,in the ,national        
,gallery1 ,london          ,i           
,titian ,vecelli1 undeniably the        
greatest ,venetian painter of the       
,renaissance1 leaps into the full light 
of the movement4 ,to be sure he  appears
 full-grown1 as ,venus is said to have  

done when she appeared  above the foam  
in the waters of ,cythera1 or ,pallas   
,athene when she  sprang from the brain 
of ,zeus1 but happily he was destined to
 live to a  great age4    ,we have few  
and scanty records to tell of the very  
early days4 ,so wide  was his circle of 
patrons in after life1 so intimate his  
acquaintance  with the leading men of   
his generation1 that it is not difficult
 to  find out what manner of man he was 
without the aid of his pictures1  even  
though they have a very definite story  
to tell the painstaking  student4       
,there are well over one hundred        
important works1 dealing with the life  
and art of ,titian1 written by          
enthusiasts in half-a-dozen languages1  
for of all the artists of the           
,renaissance he makes perhaps the most  
direct appeal to the man moyen sensuel4 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4--,,la      
,,bella    7,in the ,pitti ,palace1     
,florence7    ,this wonderful example of
 ,titian's portrait painting may be seen

 in the  ,pitti ,palace to-day1 and was 
probably commissioned by the ,duke of   
,urbino somewhere about the year #aecf4 
,it will be noticed by students of      
,titian that the model for this portrait
 appears in some of the master's        
pictures as ,venus4    ,fearless and    
unashamed1 he gave the world pagan      
pictures1 entering into  the joy of     
their creation with the enthusiasm of a 
schoolboy who has  found an orchard gate
 unlocked4 ,to be sure the spirit of joy
 and of  youth passed with the years1   
even this most fortunate of painters    
knew  trouble1 domestic and financial1  
but the beauty remained1 expressing  the
 fullest vigour of the ,renaissance     
movement1 the supreme achievement  of   
human loveliness1 the splendour of men  
and women4    ,fortune was kind to      
,titian in many ways1 and not in the    
least degree by  driving to the         
sheltering fold of the ,venetian        
,republic the great men  of all lands   
who were hurrying to safety before the  

destroying advance  of ,spain4 ,it is   
right1 at the same time1 to remember    
that the leaders  of the destroying     
legions were the friends and patrons of 
the painter1  that the greatest of them 
all desired to be buried in the shadow  
of the  master's picture ,la ,gloria1   
now in the ,prado4 ,the time called for 
a  supremely gifted artist to render its
 great men immortal1 or at least  to    
give them what we call immortality in   
the days when we forget that  if modern 
science be correct man has existed for  
some #bej1jjj years and  has not yet    
reached mental adolescence4 ,perhaps    
when he has developed  his brain1 and   
can control the march of this planet and
 the duration of  his own life1 he will 
not make half so attractive a subject   
for the  painters as did those men and  
women of the fifteenth and sixteenth    
century whose beauty casts a spell over 
us to-day4    ,titian was born at ,pieve
 among the mountains of ,cadore where   
the ,tyrol  and ,italy meet4 ,his statue

 in bronze looks out towards ,venice    
to-day  from the market-place of his    
native town1 and the landscape that the 
painter knew best1 and gave time out of 
mind to his pictures1 has  altered but  
little4 ,he was a second son1 and would 
seem to have been  born about the year  
#adhj1 but there was no registrar of    
births1  marriages1 and deaths in ,pieve
 and1 while some authorities place the  
date at #adgg1 the year that he himself 
favoured1 others advance it as  far as  
#adhb4 ,there has been a great          
controversy about this birth date1  but 
it might be safe to place it rather     
later still4    ,titian was the son of  
one ,gregorio ,vecelli1 who seems to    
have been a  soldier and a man who held 
high position in the little town which1 
in  the early days of the fifteenth     
century1 had cast in its lot with the   
,venetian ,republic4 ,nothing is known  
of his mother except her name1 but  his 
elder brother named ,francesco followed 
art until he was middle  aged1 and there

 were two sisters ,ursula and           
,katherine1 of whom the  former kept    
house for the painter for many years in 
,venice1 after the  death of his wife4  
,francesco and ,titian ,vecelli         
developed at an early age a marked      
feeling for painting1 and in order that 
they might have every chance of         
developing their gifts to the best      
advantage1 ,gregorio ,vecelli took  them
 to ,venice1 which lay some seventy     
miles from ,pieve1 and left them  with a
 brother who had sufficient influence to
 secure for ,titian  admission to the   
studios of the brothers ,bellini1 who   
then shared with  the ,vivarini family  
the highest position in the art world of
 the  ,republic4 ,gian ,bellini1 then a 
man past middle age1 had in his studio  
several pupils who were destined to     
achieve distinction4 ,palma ,vecchio1   
,sebastian del ,piombo1 and ,giorgione  
of ,castelfranco were among them1  and  
of these the last named was certainly   
the greatest4 ,it is probable  that1 had

 he lived1 even ,titian ,vecelli must   
have toiled after him in  vain1 for he  
influenced his fellow-student to an     
extent that is very  clearly revealed in
 the early pictures1 and has even led to
 confusion  between the work of the two 
men1 a confusion greatly increased by   
the  fact that ,titian completed some of
 the pictures that ,giorgione left      
unfinished4 ,happily perhaps for        
,titian1 though unfortunately for the   
world at large1 ,giorgione was destined 
to fall a victim to one of the  plagues 
that ravaged ,venice from time to time1 
and he died soon after  completing his  
thirtieth year1 leaving ,titian         
undisputed master of  ,venetian         
painting4    ,like all great men ,titian
 was an assimilator4 ,in his early days 
he  started out under the influence of  
,bellini4 ,then he surrendered1 as  even
 his aged master did1 to the strange1   
rare1 and beautiful spirit of  poetry   
and romance that ,giorgione brought into
 art4 ,he may have helped  to develop   

and strengthen it1 for he and ,giorgione
 worked and lived  together4 ,finally   
when outside influences had died down   
,titian found  himself1 and this was the
 greatest discovery of his life4    ,in 
the last years of ,giorgione's short    
career he and ,titian1 both young  men1 
were engaged to decorate the great      
,commercial ,house of the  ,germans1    
rebuilt upon the site of the older      
building that had been  destroyed by    
fire about the beginning of the year    
#aeje4 ,the work would  appear to have  
been started two years later4 ,this     
united effort1 purely  decorative1 must 
have been worthy of its surroundings at 
a time when  ,venice and beauty were    
almost synonymous terms2 the greater    
part is  lost to us to-day4    ,serious 
troubles were upon the ,republic4 ,the  
,league of ,cambrai1 one of  the least  
scrupulous political arrangements in    
,european history1 had  resulted in an  
attack upon the ,venetian domains that  
had been entirely  successful1 though   

statecraft was destined to recover from 
the  ,philistines of ,europe a part at  
least of what they had taken1 and       
finding that the ,republic was too beset
 to give much thought to art or  artists
 ,titian left ,venice for ,padua4 ,this 
must have been very shortly  after the  
completion of his work with ,giorgione4 
,his hand is to be seen  in the very    
pleasant and learned city of ,padua     
among the frescoes in  the ,scuola del  
,santo1 and he may have been within its 
walls when the  plague1 on one of its   
periodical visits to ,venice1 added his 
friend and  fellow-worker ,giorgione to 
a heavy list of victims4                
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4--,,the    
,,entombment    7,in the ,louvre7       
,this world-famous canvas hangs in the  
,salon ,carr of the ,louvre4 ,it is     
considered to be one of the masterpieces
 among the religious subjects  painted  
by the great ,venetian artist4    ,on   
,titian's return to the headquarters of 
the ,republic only ,palma  ,vecchio was 

left among the great men of his own age1
 and it would seem  that ,titian's      
rising fame had already spread beyond   
the borders of  ,venice1 because in     
#aeac1 when he petitioned the ,council  
of ,ten for  a broker's patent to work  
in the ,hall of the ,german ,merchants1 
he  stated that he had been invited by  
the ,pope 7,leo ,x47 to come to ,rome1  
and that he wished to leave a memorial  
in ,venice4 ,it is clear from the       
correspondence that he had an eye upon a
 post held by the aged ,gian  ,bellini4 
,this was the office of painter in the  
,hall of the ,great  ,council1 a coveted
 position for which ,carpaccio1 one of  
,bellini's less  distinguished pupils1  
is said to have been among the          
claimants4  ,although ,titian was a     
remarkable and rising man the ,council  
hesitated  to grant his request1 partly 
because times were bad with the ,state  
and  money was scarce4 ,he was compelled
 to wait1 and it would appear that  his 
application was opposed both by the     

friends of ,bellini and the  supporters 
of ,bellini's older pupils2 but as soon 
as ,bellini died1  towards the close of 
#aeaf1 ,titian came to his desire and   
undertook to  paint the great battle of 
,cadore in the ,hall of the ,great      
,council4  ,having secured his patent1  
work increased1 his brush was in request
  in many quarters1 and he did as so    
many other painters in the ,state       
employment of ,venice had done--he left 
his official work for such spare  time  
as more remunerative employment left    
him--to the great scandal of  the       
,councillors whose angry protests are on
 record4 ,his early portraits  seem to  
have been of men2 the women1 in whose   
treatment he was perhaps  less happy1   
sought him in later life1 and his other 
early commissions  were very largely for
 altar-pieces4 ,titian had powerful     
friends and  patrons at an early age1   
for we see that he had been recommended 
to the  ,pope by ,cardinal ,bembo before
 he returned to ,venice from ,padua1 and

 his  pictures attracted the attention  
of that splendid patron of art ,alfonso 
of ,ferrara4 ,this great connoisseur    
sent for and entertained him at his     
castle1 and even offered to take him to 
,rome when ,leo ,x4 died1 and his       
successor1 after the fashion of ,popes1 
would be likely to give some  liberal   
commissions to the greatest artists of  
his time4 ,in return for  these         
kindnesses1 and in consideration of a   
splendid fee1 ,titian  painted the great
 picture of ,alfonso of ,ferrara of     
which a copy is to  be seen in          
,florence4 ,the original went to ,madrid
 and has been lost4 ,for  the same      
generous master he painted his ,bacchus 
and ,ariadne1 his  ,venus with the      
,shell1 and a ,bacchanal1 and it is     
generally agreed  that he painted a part
 at least of the picture called ,the    
,bacchanal1  now in the possession of   
the ,duke of ,northumberland4           
,several of the works painted in        
,ferrara were taken in later days to    

,madrid1 and it might be said in this   
place that it is almost as  necessary to
 go to the ,prado to see the ,titians as
 it is to see the  great works of       
,velazquez4 ,the ,bacchanal is there1   
and the ,worship  of ,venus is there1   
and we find many others of the first    
importance1  some two dozen1 perhaps1   
whose authority is beyond dispute4 ,this
  collection in the ,prado is the more  
valuable because it represents  ,titian 
not only in the early days1 but when he 
was at the zenith of his  powers4 ,the  
pictures range in date over a period of 
nearly seventy  years1 from the ,madonna
 with ,st4 ,bridget and ,st4 ,ulphus    
7circa #aeje7  down to the ,allegory of 
the ,battle of ,lepanto1 which was sent 
to  ,spain in #aege1 a commission from  
,philip ,,ii4 whose love for allegorical
  pictures is well known4 ,charles ,v4  
and his son ,philip ,,ii4 are to be     
seen in the ,prado through the medium of
 ,titian's brush1 and1 although  many of
 the works have suffered from           

restoration1 which is one of the  vices 
associated with the great ,spanish      
picture galleries1 there are  several   
that show few signs of an alien brush   
and are1 for pictures by  ,titian1 in   
first-class order4    ,students of the  
,renaissance know that art was accepted 
by all the great  rulers of ,europe as  
something lying outside the boundaries  
of ambition  and strife4 ,it was one of 
the rewards of a great conqueror that he
  could have his portrait painted by the
 first painter of his day1 and          
patriotism was kept outside the studio1 
to the great benefit of art and  rulers 
alike4 ,venice offended ,spain in many  
ways1 and even offended the  ,church by 
laying a restraining hand upon the ,holy
 ,inquisition1 but  ,popes and ,spanish 
kings were proud1 nevertheless1 to be   
numbered among  the patrons of the      
greatest artist of their time1 they     
seemed to know  that his brush would do 
more than immortalise their             
progress--that it  would outlive it4    

,the attention that ,titian received    
from the ,court of  ,ferrara did much to
 develop the esteem in which ,venice    
held him1 and  ,titian was requested to 
paint his famous ,assumption for the    
great  ,church of ,santa ,maria de'     
,frari4 ,to-day no more than a copy     
hangs in  the church1 the picture having
 been long ago transferred to the       
,accademia4 ,it is very properly        
regarded by the authorities as one  of  
the first very great pictures of        
,titian's life1 marking as it does  the 
entrance of living interests into sacred
 painting4 ,the bustle and  movement    
that earlier masters had not ventured to
 present are seen here  to the greatest 
advantage1 and although there must have 
been many to  declare that its          
conception was wicked and irreligious   
and quite  outside the thought of such  
acknowledged masters as ,beato ,angelico
 and  ,gian ,bellini1 it is likely that 
such criticism would have very little   
effect upon ,titian1 because he went on 

painting altar-pieces without  reverting
 in any instance to the methods of his  
predecessors4    ,he painted a ,madonna 
for the ,church of ,st ,nicholas1 an    
,assumption  for ,verona's ,cathedral1  
an ,entombment of ,christ1 now in       
,paris1 and it  could have surprised    
nobody when the ,doge ,andrea ,gritti   
commissioned  the artist to decorate the
 ,church of ,st4 ,nicholas in the ,ducal
 ,palace4  ,these frescoes have         
disappeared1 but a picture by ,titian   
preserves the  patron for us1 and this  
is something to be grateful for1 because
 the  head is full of interest4 ,titian 
continued to paint ecclesiastical       
subjects until pressure from the world  
beyond forced him to turn his  brush to 
other purposes1 and then he came under  
the patronage of  ,frederic ,gonzaga1   
,duke of ,mantua1 son of that ,isabella 
d',este1 who had  commissioned ,titian's
 old master1 ,gian ,bellini1 to paint a 
secular  picture for her camerino and   
was in the next few years to have her   

own portrait painted by ,bellini's young
 pupil4 ,in addition to an  original    
picture he copied a portrait painted    
when she was young1 and  doubtless he   
was sufficiently a courtier to paint it 
in fashion that  merited her approval   
and consoled her for having grown old4  
,the instinct for the fine arts had     
descended to ,isabella's son1 and  when 
,titian went to work in ,mantua he      
painted pictures that extended  his     
,european fame1 because as the western  
world was situated in those  days       
,mantua had a word to say in its        
affairs1 entertaining foreign           
potentates and receiving foreign        
ambassadors4 ,in those days1 too1       
ambassadors took note of art movements1 
knowing that in so doing they  were     
bound to please their masters2 the      
political correspondence of the  times  
includes a very considerable amount of  
art gossip4 ,it is certain  that ,titian
 worked in ,mantua for the ,duke1 and   
painted many pictures  including the    

,eleven ,csars1 but unhappily the       
greater part of all  his labour is lost4
 ,perhaps some canvases await the       
discerning critic  in half-forgotten    
gallery or lumber-rooms2 it is not      
likely that all  have been destroyed4   
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4--,,the     
,,holy ,,family    7,in the ,uffizi     
,gallery1 ,florence7    ,sometimes known
 as the ,virgin with the ,holy ,child   
and ,saints4 ,here  we find ,titian     
dealing with a religious subject with   
the restraint1  dignity1 and sense of   
beauty that proclaim him a master among 
painters4  ,the motherly love of the    
,virgin1 the solicitude of ,st4 ,joseph 
on the  right1 and the childish         
innocence of the two children are most  
effectively expressed and contrasted4   
,the picture may be seen in the  ,uffizi
 ,gallery4    ,the next great ,italian  
house with which ,titian seems to have  
entered  into relations was that of     
,urbino whose ,duke was nephew of that  
,pope  ,julius ,,ii4 who was known to   

his contemporaries as the ,terrible     
,pontiff because of his uncontrollable  
temper4 ,he was the ,pope who gave      
,michelangelo the commission to paint   
the ceiling in the ,sistine ,chapel4    
,this artist was at least as            
bad-tempered as the ,terrible ,pontiff  
and  the ,i'm not a painter with which  
he greeted the ,pontiff's demand that   
he should paint when he preferred to    
practise sculpture has echoed down  the 
ages4 ,it is worth remembering that when
 the work was done1 and  ,pope ,julius  
came to see the result1 he suggested    
that the scaffolding  should be         
re-erected and the work decorated afresh
 with ultramarine and  gold-leaf6       
,although ,pope ,julius bought the      
,apollo and the ,laocoon1  ,michelangelo
 was his adviser1 but his nephew        
,francesco ,maria della  ,rovere had    
sound instinct1 and his connection with 
,titian lasted as  long as he lived4    
,in the early years of this connection  
,titian painted the ,duke and  ,duchess 

and the famous ,bella1 which is         
reproduced in these pages and  is       
reckoned1 in spite of repainting1 to be 
one of the most notable  works from     
,titian's hand in this period of his    
career4 ,many portraits  painted for the
 ,court of ,urbino are mentioned by     
,vasari2 we cannot find  any traces of  
them to-day4 ,as one of them was of the 
,turkish ,sultan1  and it is not on     
record that ,titian ever went to        
,turkey1 it is  reasonable to suppose   
that some at least of these pictures    
were copies  of portraits that other men
 had painted4 ,it was the custom for    
foreign  potentates to have their       
portrait painted by the best man in     
their own  capital and then to send the 
portrait to be copied by some artist of 
world-wide repute4    ,in the ,uffizi   
,gallery in ,florence there are         
portraits of the ,duke of  ,urbino      
7which are signed7 and his ,duchess2    
they were kept at ,urbino  until the    
early part of the seventeenth century1  

and were then brought  to their present 
resting-place4 ,the picture of the ,duke
 is a very  striking one4 ,he had made a
 great reputation in fighting against   
the  ,turks1 and the emblems of his high
 office are seen in the picture4 ,the   
,duchess is painted in repose2 like so  
many of ,titian's portraits of  women   
this one has a rather listless          
expression4 ,when the ,duke died his    
son ,guidobaldo continued relations with
 the painter1 who painted the  ,duchess 
,julia just before her death4 ,it seems 
likely that she never  saw the picture1 
which is now in the ,pitti at ,florence4
 ,the portrait of  the husband is lost4 
,,ii    ,,middle ,,age      ,this brief 
and rather hurried review of ,titian's  
life and work has  brought us to his    
middle age and we find him now almost at
 the zenith  of his fame1 though his    
powers have not yet reached their ripest
 and  fullest expression4 ,venice1      
,mantua1 and ,urbino have acknowledged  
his  talent1 while if ,pope and ,sultan 

have not actually sat to him for their  
portraits they have sent him other men's
 work to copy4 ,the great  ,charles ,v41
 who seemed bent upon holding all       
western and central ,europe  in the     
hollow of his hand1 was his friend and  
patron1 and we see what  manner of man  
he was from the pictures in the ,prado4 
,the first1 painted  in the very early  
years of their acquaintance1 shows      
,charles with a  great hound by his     
side4 ,his right hand rests on his      
dagger1 his left  on the dog's collar1  
he wears the chain of the ,golden       
,fleece1 and seems  a man born to       
command4 ,belonging1 of course1 to a    
much later date is  the other portrait  
of ,charles at the ,battle of ,mhlburg1 
perhaps even  less a monument of        
,titian's skill than an enduring record 
of the  terrible craze for repainting   
that beset ,spain until recent years1   
and  is not unknown to-day1 though      
public opinion has had some effect even 
in ,madrid4 ,it is not generally known  

that there is a ,spanish official  who  
has a salaried engagement to assist the 
old masters whose work  shows signs of  
fading1 and without wishing to be       
hypercritical it is  reasonable to      
remark that these officials in a        
laudable anxiety to  earn their stipend 
have done irreparable damage to much    
work that  they were not fit to         
approach4    ,illustration3 ,,plate     
,v4--,,the ,,marriage ,,of ,,st4        
,,catherine    7,in the ,pitti ,palace1 
,florence7    ,this fine work is in the 
,pitti ,palace1 and is a triumph of     
harmony in  colour and lines4 ,the      
drawing of the arms of the ,infant      
,christ is the  one point that may be   
said to justify hostile criticism in a  
work of  extraordinary beauty4 ,a       
somewhat similar picture is in the      
,national  ,gallery4    ,in spite of the
 imminence of the political scheme that 
occupied the  mind of ,charles ,v4 he   
was able to spare time to consider the  
affairs of  art1 and his attitude       

towards ,titian seems to have been that 
of one  friend towards another rather   
than that of an emperor towards a       
foreign  painter4 ,it is interesting in 
this connection to remember that his son
  ,philip ,,ii41 who succeeded to the   
throne of ,spain1 was a patron of the   
arts1 that ,philip ,,iii4 was not       
indifferent to them1 that ,philip ,,iv4 
was  the friend as well as the patron of
 ,velazquez1 and that ,velazquez        
admired ,titian above all the other     
,venetians1 and is said to have  copied 
many of his pictures4    ,charles       
proceeded to put the crown upon         
,titian's reputation by sending  him in 
#aecc a patent of nobility1 and making  
him a ,knight of the ,order  of the     
,golden ,spur4 ,among the stories that  
receive a sort of sanction  from age is 
one to the effect that ,charles ,v4 once
 picked up a brush  that ,titian had    
dropped1 and said to his astonished     
courtiers that such  a man was worthy of
 having an emperor to serve him4        

,stories of this  kind seem to flourish 
in ,spain4 ,students of the life of     
,velazquez will  not forget the legend  
that ,philip ,,iv4 painted the cross of 
,st4 ,iago  upon the painter's cloak    
when he saw the famous picture ,las     
,menias1  in order to give the most     
fitting expression of his admiration4   
,this  story contrasts strangely with   
the true facts of the case4 ,charles    
went  even further than to give the     
patent of nobility to ,titian1 he made a
  determined effort to persuade him to  
live in ,madrid altogether4 ,very       
wisely ,titian refused the offers2 he   
was a ,venetian at heart1 and a  free   
man4 ,to be a citizen of ,venice was an 
honour for which even a  ,charles ,v4   
could hardly find an effective          
substitute4    ,there is no reason to   
believe that ,titian would have fared   
any better  in the wind-swept1          
heat-stricken capital of ,spain than    
,velazquez fared  in the years that     
brought ,philip ,,iv4 to the throne4 ,at

 the splendid  court of ,charles ,v4    
,titian would soon have become a mere   
official  painter1 he would have been   
compelled to paint to order and endure  
the  snubs and buffets of the           
blue-blooded1 but uncultivated courtiers
  attached to the royal establishment4  
,moreover1 the ,venetians did not  like 
,spanish methods of dealing with matters
 of art and faith2 to  ,titian their    
attitude would have appeared            
intolerable4    ,although he was a      
painter1 ,titian had little of the      
temperament that is  generally          
associated with artists4 ,his genius was
 allied to sound  commercial instincts1 
and he chose for intimates and advisers 
men whose  practical experience of the  
world and of affairs was at least as    
great  as his own1 in some cases even   
greater4 ,of these ,pietro ,aretino1    
father  of modern journalists1 was one  
of the most sagacious and quite the most
  remarkable4 ,his voluminous letters   
tell us a great deal about ,titian to   

whom he played the part of mentor1 and  
they reveal the writer as a man  of     
great shrewdness who moved in the       
highest circles in many cities1  living 
largely by his wits1 and wielding a pen 
that was often sharper  than a sword and
 was certainly more feared4 ,he found   
,titian as valuable  to him as he was   
useful to ,titian1 and1 when any        
delicate negotiations  were to the fore 
,aretino's large circle of friends and  
patrons1 his  ready tongue and fluent   
pen were at the service of the painter4 
,his  portrait painted by ,titian was   
till recently in ,rome and reveals a man
  with massive head1 sagacious          
expression1 and a curious likeness to   
,dr4  ,hans ,richter the famous         
musician4 ,his letters are still read   
with  interest by those who like to look
 back over the course of life in the    
sixteenth century4    ,at a time when he
 had passed middle age1 ,titian would   
seem to have  exhausted for the moment  
the possibilities of ,venice4 ,we have  

seen that  the ,fathers of the ,city had
 been a little vexed with his delay in  
painting the ,battle of ,cadore in the  
,hall of the ,grand ,council4 ,he  had  
received a ,state allowance in order to 
enable him to paint it1 and  twenty     
years had not sufficed him for the      
completion of the commission4  ,when he 
was threatened with the loss of his     
money and dignities by the  indignant   
,councillors1 whose patience at the end 
of two decades was  quite stale1 he did 
set to work1 and satisfied them that the
 picture  was worth the waiting4 ,but   
they could hardly have been inclined to 
extend much more patronage to a man who 
allowed the rulers of other  ,states to 
turn his attention from commissioned    
work1 and never  hesitated to leave it  
for years at a time when other and more 
remunerative orders came to hand4       
,moreover the great churches were       
fairly well filled1 and the smaller ones
 could hardly afford to employ  the     
greatest master of the day4 ,so ,pietro 

,aretino1 perhaps casting  about to do  
his friend a good turn1 bethought him of
 his influence in  ,rome1 and addressed 
certain letters to the leading lights of
 ,mother  ,church who were to be found  
there4 ,these letters were doubtless    
supervised by ,titian himself1 because  
they bear a striking likeness in        
phraseology to the petition the painter 
had addressed to the ,council of  ,ten  
in the days when he was little known1   
and ,gian ,bellini was still  working   
for the ,state4 ,then1 it will be       
remembered1 the painter  declared that  
he had been asked to go to ,rome but    
preferred to stay in  ,venice2 now      
,aretino told the ,romans that ,titian  
had been invited to go  to ,madrid but  
preferred to work in ,rome4 ,so it      
happened early in the  'forties that1   
through the useful ,aretino1 ,titian    
entered into  relations with the        
,farnese family1 who were represented in
 the ,papal  ,chair by ,pope ,paul      
,,iii4 ,the result was that ,titian was 

invited to  ,ferrara1 where he met the  
,pope and painted his portrait4    ,the 
whole correspondence1 so far as it can  
be seen1 would seem to  suggest that    
,titian and ,aretino managed this       
business exceedingly well4  ,when the   
painter found that his ambition was     
within measurable distance  of being    
gratified1 and that his graceless elder 
son for whom he had  entered a special  
plea1 was to receive a benefice1 he     
seems to have  remembered that ,venice  
held many attractions for him1 and that 
he could  not leave it in a hurry4 ,not 
until the close of #aede did he visit   
the  ,eternal ,city1 only to regret that
 the greater part of his life had been  
passed outside its walls4    ,as soon as
 he was established in ,rome1 ,titian   
found himself received by  princes and  
prelates in fashion befitting his age   
and reputation4 ,and  ,giorgio ,vasari1 
the author of the great work on ,italian
 artists1 was  commissioned1 by one of  
the heads of the house of ,farnese1 to  

show the  painter the wonders of the    
city4    ,illustration3 ,,plate         
,,vi4--,,flora    7,in the ,uffizi      
,gallery1 ,florence7    ,the famous     
,flora of ,titian's reproduced here is  
in the ,uffizi ,gallery  and was painted
 somewhere about #aeae4 ,in the         
seventeenth century it was  engraved by 
one of the greatest engravers of the    
day1 ,sandrart4 ,the  picture was       
publicly exhibited in ,florence towards 
the stormy close of  the eighteenth     
century1 and although people in those   
years had small  leisure to concern     
themselves about works of art1 it       
created a great  sensation4    ,to the  
,farnese family ,titian's visit was of  
the first importance  because its ,pope 
and ,cardinal were his first patrons1   
and he painted  many pictures for them4 
,paul ,,iii4 was no more than ten years 
older than  the painter and had not long
 to live4 ,he sat to ,titian several    
times2 two of the portraits are to be   
seen in ,naples and there are  others to

 be seen elsewhere4 ,in addition to the 
fine memorials of the  ,farnese ,pope1  
,naples holds several of ,titian's      
masterpieces1 including  the splendid   
,dane1 a ,philip ,,ii41 and a ,mary     
,magdalen4 ,those who  are fortunate    
enough to obtain access to the really   
remarkable  collection of pictures at   
,naples will not forget readily the     
striking  portraits of the old ,pope4   
,titian stayed less than a year in the  
,eternal ,city in spite of the          
preparations he had made before         
undertaking the journey1 and then       
returned to ,venice with many honours1  
but without the long desired post  for  
his son4 ,perhaps his departure gave    
offence to people in high  places1      
perhaps his stay there had not been     
altogether as satisfactory  as he had   
expected it to be1 for despite          
flattering offers1 despite the  honour  
of ,roman citizenship conferred upon him
 before he went home1 he  refused to    
return4 ,he might have gone in the end  

in consideration of  the preferment     
granted to ,pomponio ,vecelli his       
scapegrace son1 but  ,charles ,v4 sent  
for him1 and he went instead to         
,augsburg1 where the  ,emperor who had  
seen the fulfilment of so many of his   
hopes was living  in great state1       
surrounded by as brilliant a court as   
the sixteenth  century knew4 ,in        
,augsburg ,titian painted his most      
famous portrait of  ,charles ,v41 the   
one showing the ,emperor on horseback1  
which as has been  stated1 is to be seen
 to-day in the ,prado in ,madrid4       
,titian remained in ,augsburg for the   
greater part of a year before he        
returned to ,venice1 to find his studio1
 or work-shop as it would have  been    
called in those days besieged by the    
envoys of the various  ,european rulers 
who were all clamouring for portraits4  
,from ,venice the  painter went to      
,milan at the invitation of ,prince     
,philip of ,spain  7afterwards ,philip  
,,ii47 and at the close of #aeej he was 

back in  ,augsburg where he painted     
several portraits of ,prince ,philip of 
which  perhaps the best is in the       
,prado4 ,by the time he returned to     
,venice he  would have been in the      
immediate neighbourhood of his eightieth
 year4  ,his brush was never idle1 and  
if the fruit of his labours could have  
been preserved in fire-proof galleries  
the gain to the world would have  been  
enormous4 ,unfortunately we have to face
 the unpleasant truth that  considerably
 more than half his life work has been  
lost4          ,,iii    ,,the ,,last    
,,decades      ,titian's last work for  
,charles ,v4 was the famous ,gloria4    
,this was  painted at a time when       
,charles had decided to end his days in 
the  shadow of the ,church1 and is to be
 seen to-day in the ,prado1 a           
composition of amazing strength and     
wonderful inspiration4 ,the ,father  and
 the ,son are seen enthroned1 with the  
,virgin ,mary at the feet of  ,christ1  
and the ,patriarchs grouped in the      

background4 ,charles himself  in his    
shroud is pleading for forgiveness1 an  
angel by his side  encourages him and   
supports his appeal4 ,the lighting of   
the picture is  masterly1 and so        
impressed the ,emperor that he took it  
with him into  retirement1 and directed 
that it should be placed above his tomb4
    ,philip ,,ii4 has no enviable       
reputation in this country1 but his     
position  as patron of the arts stands  
far above criticism4 ,though he was a   
sober  ascetic upon whom the authority  
of the ,church weighed very heavily1 he 
did not ask ,titian to devote himself   
entirely to religious pictures4  ,in    
matters of art he saw his way to making 
a considerable concession  to the spirit
 of the ,renaissance1 and when he took  
over the burden  of empire he           
commissioned several mythological       
subjects from the old  painter4 ,among  
them were the ,venus and ,adonis now in 
the ,prado1 the  ,diana surprised by    
,actaeon in ,bridge-water ,house1 and   

the ,jupiter  and ,antiope in the       
,louvre4 ,the allegorical pictures1 the 
latest work  of the painter's life1 were
 commissioned later4    ,strangely      
enough the years had done little or     
nothing to dim the lustre  of the       
painter's work1 his colour was still    
supremely beautiful1 his  feeling for   
landscape more intense than it had ever 
been1 while his  capacity for striking  
and novel composition remained a thing  
to wonder  at4 ,of course ,philip was   
not content with secular subjects1 and  
,titian  was required to paint a certain
 number of pictures for the ,escorial1  
but he is best represented by his       
mythological subjects4 ,perhaps they    
made a more direct appeal to him because
 by their side the religious  pictures  
were a little old-fashioned1 and he does
 not seem to have  faced allegorical    
subjects with enthusiasm4    ,it is     
interesting to turn to ,vasari and read 
some of the things he has  to say about 
the painter at this period of his life1 

for although the  old chronicler is not 
the most accurate of writers1 he is at  
least a  very interesting one and he    
knew ,titian intimately4 ,he says of the
  famous ,gloria picture to which       
reference has been made--,the           
composition of this work was in         
accordance with the orders of his       
,majesty1 who was then giving evidence  
of his intention to retire1 as he       
afterwards did1 from mundane affairs1 to
 the end that he might die in  the      
manner of a true ,christian1 fearing    
,god and labouring for his own          
salvation4 ,it is not difficult to      
imagine the emotion that this  picture  
must have roused among those who were   
privileged to see it1  when it came     
fresh from the painter's studio1 to     
impress an age that  had not forgotten  
to be devout4    ,again ,vasari says1   
,in the year #aeff when ,i1 the writer  
of the present  history1 was in ,venice1
 ,i went to visit ,titian as one who was
 his  friend1 and found him1 although   

then very old1 still with the pencils   
in his hand painting busily4 ,the old   
gossip goes on to say that ,paris       
,bordone1 who had studied grammar and   
become an excellent musician1  had set  
himself to imitate ,titian1 who did not 
love him on that  account1 and had      
sought to keep him from getting         
commissions4 ,bordone  persevered and   
went to ,augsburg1 where he painted     
pictures1 now lost1  for some of the    
great ,german merchants4 ,this little   
glimpse of rivalry  suggests to us that 
,titian was jealous of his reputation1  
although  ,vasari tells us elsewhere    
that he was kind and considerate to his 
contemporaries1 and free from           
uneasiness1 because he had gained a fair
  amount of wealth1 his labours having  
always been well paid4 ,vasari  hints1  
too1 that he kept his brush in hand too 
long2 he must have  written this when he
 remembered that1 for all his many      
excellences1  ,titian was a ,venetian4  
,titian has always been healthy and     

happy1 he  writes2 he has been favoured 
beyond the lot of most men1 and has     
received from ,heaven only favours and  
blessings4 ,in his house he  has always 
been visited by whatever princes1       
literati1 or men of  distinction have   
gone to ,venice1 for in addition to his 
excellence in  art he has always        
distinguished himself by courtesy1      
goodness1 and  rectitude4 ,perhaps his  
remark that ,titian's reputation would  
have  stood higher if he had finished   
work earlier may be no more than a      
veiled comment upon the indiscriminate  
misuse of the labours of pupils4        
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4--,,sacred 
,,and ,,profane ,,love    7,in the      
,borghese ,palace1 ,rome7    ,this most 
beautiful work of ,titian's is one      
belonging to his early  days4 ,it was   
probably commissioned in #aeab by the   
,chancellor of ,venice1  and we find    
that it was in the possession of        
,cardinal ,scipione ,borghese  at the   
beginning of the seventeenth century4   

,it may be seen to-day in  the ,borghese
 ,palace of ,rome4    ,in the latter    
years of his sojourn in ,venice the     
artist lived in a  house towards        
,murano1 between the ,church of ,san    
,giovanni de ,paolo and  the ,church of 
the ,jesuits4 ,he entertained very      
largely1 giving supper  parties from    
which no seasonable delicacy was        
lacking1 and gathering  round him       
distinguished men and women who were far
 less celebrated for  their morals than 
for their attractions4 ,his gossip      
,aretino was  generally of the party1   
and it is to him that we owe so much of 
our  intimate knowledge of the painter's
 home life and troubles4 ,aretino's     
death in #aeef must have been a great   
blow to ,titian4    ,vasari tells us    
that the painter's income was           
considerable4 ,charles ,v4  paid a      
thousand gold crowns for every portrait 
of himself and1 when he  conferred the  
patent of nobility upon the painter1 he 
accompanied it  with an annual gift of  

two hundred crowns4 ,philip ,,ii41 son  
of the great  ,emperor1 added another   
two hundred annually1 the ,german       
merchants gave  him three hundred1 so   
that he had seven hundred crowns a year 
without  taking into account the        
commissions that came to him on every   
side1  and1 as he was painting for the  
richest and most generous people of his 
generation1 his annual income must have 
been very considerable4 ,and yet        
,titian's own correspondence1 of which a
 part has been preserved1 shows  that   
the ,state grants were not always paid  
regularly4 ,it is of course  far more   
easy for an arbitrary ruler to make     
gifts to his favourites  than it is for 
the ,state ,treasury to respond to the  
demands that must  needs follow each    
grant1 and ,spanish finances have always
 been  difficult to administer4    ,as  
he grew older and his hand lost part at 
least of its cunning1 ,titian  depended 
more and more upon pupils1 but in this  
he was only following  the custom of his

 time4 ,it is said that a clever ,german
 artist1 who  worked in his studio1 was 
responsible for the greater part of     
several  of the later pictures4 ,the    
,council of ,ten though they had taken  
from  him the office of ,painter of     
,doges and had given it to ,tintoretto1 
offered him a commission in the late    
'sixties2 even if they had a  grievance 
against him they could not afford to    
nourish it4 ,then again  if ,titian was 
not always prompt in doing the work for 
which he was  paid1 even if he employed 
pupils to a greater extent than seemed  
necessary to those who had to pay for   
the finished canvas1 it must have  been 
hard to quarrel with him1 for his       
personality would seem to have  been    
most engaging4 ,he was an excellent     
musician as well as a good  host1 ,paolo
 ,veronese has included him in the      
famous ,marriage in ,cana  7,louvre7    
playing a double bass4 ,moreover ,titian
 was a courtier whose  correspondence1  
although it dealt so largely with matter

 of finance1  lacks none of the stilted 
graces of the time1 and these may have  
helped  to conciliate angry patrons4 ,he
 seems to have been an affectionate     
father1 and if he had any besetting sin 
it was love of money1 his  anxiety in   
this respect being increased by the fact
 that he was not  always able to collect
 the accounts due to him4 ,yet he saved 
enough to  buy land round his birthplace
 and it is reported that he went to     
,cadore  whenever he had the            
opportunity4 ,clearly an appreciative   
sense of the  perennial peace of the    
,dolomites never left him4    ,by his   
wife1 to whom he was not married until  
two sons had been born1  ,titian had    
four children of whom two grew up4      
,pomponio1 to whom we  have referred1   
was the eldest2 and he came to a bad    
end1 being a  dissipated man4 ,orazio1  
who was the second son1 became a        
painter4 ,one  daughter died young1 and 
there was another1 ,lavinia1 portraits  
of whom  may be seen at ,dresden and    

,berlin4 ,his great friends were ,pietro
  ,aretino1 poet and gossip1 who laid   
half ,europe under contribution1 and    
was almost as unscrupulous as he was    
clever1 and the sculptor  ,sansovino4   
,whatever ,titian's faults were as a    
man1 they may fairly be forgotten in    
his merits as an artist1 and it is not  
the least of these merits that  he      
worked from the time when he was a boy  
to the hour when his brush  seemed      
falling from his hands1 unsparing in his
 devotion to his task4  ,he has left a  
legacy to the civilised world that      
compels a measure of  admiration equal  
to that which is paid to ,velazquez4    
,titian was the  supreme master of      
colour1 but1 unfortunately1 few of his  
pictures have  escaped the restorer's   
hand1 and a great many have been damaged
 in  their journeys from city to city in
 an age when the art of picture  packing
 was still unknown4 ,exposure to all    
sorts of weather1 long  periods of      
neglect1 careless restoration1 and      

reckless repainting would  have been    
enough to destroy the reputation of most
 painters1 but  ,titian's work has not  
suffered to the extent that might have  
been  expected4 ,enough remains of the  
master to make us not a little envious  
of the happy patrons of the arts who    
knew his work in all its glory4    ,it  
is hard to say when ,titian's life would
 have come to an end in the  ordinary   
course of events1 but it is not         
unreasonable to suppose that  he would  
have lived to be a centenarian had he   
retired from ,venice  when he was ninety
 and gone to live in ,pieve1 the        
well-beloved city  that gave him birth4 
,but he would not leave his workshop1   
and in #aege  the plague paid another   
visit to ,venice4 ,it will be remembered
 that  soon after the ,league of        
,cambrai when ,titian was in ,padua1 a  
visitation  had devastated ,venice and  
carried off ,giorgione among thousands  
of  lesser men4 ,the ,venetians were    
never free from fear of the plague's    

return4 ,in #aege the hand of the plague
 lay heavy upon the ,city of  ,lagoons1 
where sanitation was unknown1 and       
isolation and disinfection  were not    
practised properly4 ,historians tell us 
that some #dj1jjj people  perished1 the 
greatest panic prevailed1 and while the 
plague was at its  height ,titian died4 
,if his own insinuation of the year of  
his birth be  correct he must have been 
in his ninety-ninth year1 but even if we
  accept the date given by those who    
believe that he was born as late as     
#adhb1 he would have been within seven  
years of his centenary4 ,the  epidemic  
is recorded in the famous ,church of the
 ,redentore on the  ,giudecca1 dedicated
 to ,christ by the ,doge ,mocenigo1     
whose portrait  painted by ,tintoretto  
may be seen in the ,accademia to-day4   
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4--,,the   
,,holy ,,family    7,in the ,national   
,gallery1 ,london7    ,this superb      
painting is one of the gems of our      
,national ,gallery1 and  represents     

,titian at his best as a great          
colourist4 ,it is painted in  oil on    
canvas4    ,in spite of the distress    
prevailing in the city some effort was  
made  to give the great painter a ,state
 funeral1 but under the conditions      
existing1 it was impossible to carry out
 the programme1 and he was  buried with 
comparatively little ceremony in the    
great ,church of the  ,frari which1 in  
addition to having one of the finest    
works of his hand1  is further enriched 
by the famous altar-piece by his old    
master ,gian  ,bellini4 ,they say that  
his residence was entered shortly after 
his  death by some of the riff-raff of  
,venice1 to whom the plague had given  a
 welcome measure of licence1 and was    
despoiled of many of its  treasures4    
,doubtless the painter's house held much
 that was worth the  small risk involved
 in an hour when the authorities were   
hardly able to  cope with duties to the 
sick and the disposal of the dead4      
,in considering the life of ,titian we  

see that much good-fortune went to  its 
making4 ,he was born at the best period 
of the ,renaissance1 he was  the        
inheritor of the freedom for which other
 painters had striven4 ,he  painted a   
world that was as new to artists as were
 the far-off realms  to the ,spanish    
adventurers who were discovering new    
countries and new  trade routes1 and    
paving the way for the ultimate decline 
of ,venice4 ,at  the outset of his      
career ,titian's work was full of the   
joy of life1  it was the expression of  
an age that seemed to have come of age1 
of a  city that had turned to canvas and
 marble rather than to books for a      
reflection of the new life4 ,while the  
painter progressed1 overcoming  the     
various difficulties of expression that 
confronted him1 making  daring and      
successful experiments in composition1  
handling colour as it  had never been   
handled before1 this feeling of         
enthusiasm that belonged  to the age was
 expressed in all his work4 ,then again 

he had the great  advantage of claiming 
for sitters the most distinguished men  
of his  time1 the statesmen and rulers  
who were making history at the expense  
of the map of ,europe1 the men who held 
spiritual or temporal power1 and  the   
women they delighted to honour4         
,naturally enough these conditions  gave
 added scope to the painter's talent2   
and his subjects were worthy  of his    
brush4 ,he could seek out what was best 
and most characteristic  in his sitters1
 and express through the medium of his  
art not only the  likeness but the      
personality underlying it4 ,had his work
 been more  fortunate1 had it been      
preserved in anything like its entirety1
 we  should be able to read the history 
of his times in a clearer light1 for    
though the written word can tell us     
much1 the cleverly wrought picture  has 
still more to say1 and we can rely upon 
canvas1 if ,titian painted  it1 to      
refute or to confirm the verdict of the 
historian4    ,happily1 too1 ,titian's  

art grew with his age4 ,practice and    
experience  ripened it1 and some of his 
finest pictures were painted when he was
  past the span of life that the        
,psalmist has allotted to man4 ,he      
covered  every field1 no form of        
painting seems to have come amiss to    
him4  ,altar-pieces1 portraits1         
historical pictures1 mythological and   
allegorical subjects1 one and all       
claimed his attention from time to      
time1 and though we are all entitled to 
express our preference1 there  will be  
few to say that he failed in any style  
of work4 ,perhaps he was  least         
successful in allegorical subjects1 and 
in the portraits of  women1 but1 if this
 be so1 his failure is merely relative1 
he attained  such heights in            
mythological subjects and men's         
portraits1 that the  other work is not  
so good by comparison4 ,if he gave us no
 picture  devoted entirely to landscape 
it is worth remarking that the appeal   
of nature was an ever growing one4 ,the 

impression given him by the  mountains  
round ,cadore was never lost4 ,from the 
time when he completed  ,gian ,bellini's
 last picture down to the time when the 
plague came to  ,venice and found him   
with an unfinished picture on his easel1
 the  attraction of the countryside he  
knew so well was always with him1 and   
he lost no opportunity of expressing it4
 ,gian ,bellini had opened the  walls   
that shut in the ,madonna and the       
,saints of the earlier masters1  he had 
given the world glimpses of exquisite   
landscape through which  the romance    
woven round his figures seemed to       
spread4 ,titian opened the  gates still 
further1 giving a larger1 wider1 and    
more splendid view1  convincing his     
contemporaries and successors that      
landscape could never  more be          
overlooked4    ,he would seem to have   
made few studies1 a sketch by ,titian is
 one of  the rarest things in art1 he   
did not see in line but in colour4 ,with
  ,titian as with ,velazquez after him  

it is hard to separate colour from      
line1 and in colour he was the          
acknowledged master of his own time and 
the guide of the ages after him4 ,some  
of his great contemporaries1 not        
,venetians of course1 declared that     
,titian was a poor draughtsman1 but  it 
is well to remember that among the      
,venetians1 art was an affair of        
painting1 among the ,florentines it     
embraced sculpture and architecture2    
the mere handling of paint1 however     
splendid the results1 would not  suffice
 ,florentine ambitions4 ,it might even  
be said that much  ,florentine painting 
is little more than tinted drawing4 ,we 
go to ,titian  for colour even to-day1  
when time and exposure and repainting   
have  taken so much from the wealth that
 he gave to his pictures1 and we can    
see that as he grew to ripe age he      
sought to obtain his colour effects  by 
less obvious means than those that      
served him at the outset4 ,it is  hard  
for any but an artist to realise the    

secret of the cause that  produced the  
later results1 but1 if it be left for   
the artist to  explain it is easy for   
the layman to appreciate4 ,with ,titian1
 ,venetian  painting reached the zenith 
of its achievement1 after him through   
,tintoretto and ,veronese1 the descent  
is slow but sure1 and we are left       
wondering whether any fresh revival of  
the world's enthusiasm1 any new         
discovery of the world's youth is       
destined to bring into art the  spirit  
of enthusiasm that gave a ,titian to the
 world4 ,there are few  signs in our own
 time1 but then we do not live in an age
 of great  crises religious or          
political1 or1 if we do1 we are too near
 to the  changes to recognise them4     
,perhaps there are some who find        
amusement in the suggestion that        
,titian's action emancipating art from  
the thraldom of the ,church was a  great
 and glorious one1 not unattended by    
danger and difficulties4 ,to  these     
sceptics one can but reply by quoting   

the decree of the ,council  of ,nicaea  
dated ,a4,d4 #ghg and never repealed4   
,here we find the attitude  of          
,authority towards art set out in       
plainest fashion4 ,it is not the        
invention of the painter which creates a
 picture1 says this remarkable  decree1 
but the inviolable law and tradition of 
the ,church4 ,it is not  the painter but
 the ,holy ,fathers who have to invent  
and dictate4 ,to  them manifestly       
belongs the composition1 to the painter 
only the  execution4    ,a few great    
artists in later times had made their   
protest1 definite or  indefinite1       
against the attitude of the ,church1 but
 ,titian rescued art  as ,perseus       
rescued ,andromeda4      ,the plates are
 printed by ,,bemrose  ,,sons1 ,,ltd41  
,derby and ,london    ,the text at the  
,,ballantyne ,,press1 ,edinburgh        
,transcriber's note3    ,italics is     
represented with underscore  and small  
caps with ,,all ,,caps4  ,illustrations 
were moved to paragraph breaks1         

everything else  7including inconsistent
 hyphenation and spelling7 has been     
retained as  printed4