117-608: Malchiostro Annunciation is an oil on panel painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian , completed c. 1520. It is housed in the Cathedral of Treviso , northern Italy. The Malchiostro Chapel, located to the right of the high altar of the Cathedral of Treviso, near the sacristy , was commissioned by Broccardo Malchiostro, secretary of the bishop and humanist Bernardo de' Rossi . Designed by Tullio of Antonio Lombardo , it
234-712: A chessboard pavement. Titian, instead of painting the angel on the left and Mary on the right as usual, moved the Madonna into the foreground with the angel behind, pushed towards Mary by the divine light behind him. At the center, kneeling, is the donor, put in a rather far position from the viewer. Titian Artists Clergy Monarchs Popes Tiziano Vecellio ( Italian: [titˈtsjaːno veˈtʃɛlljo] ; c. 1488/90 – 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus , hence known in English as Titian ( / ˈ t ɪ ʃ ən / TISH -ən ),
351-475: A crab, a lobster, shrimps, mushrooms, flowers, a stag and two cruciform designs surround the smaller of the two inscriptions, which reads: In fulfilment of the vow (prayer) of those whose names God knows. This anonymous dedicatory inscription is a public demonstration of the benefactors' humility and an acknowledgement of God's omniscience. The abundant variety of natural life depicted in the Butrint mosaics celebrates
468-549: A deer, four young men wrestling a wild bull to the ground, and a gladiator resting in a state of fatigue, staring at his slain opponent. The mosaics decorated the walls of a cold plunge pool in a bath house within a Roman villa. The gladiator mosaic is noted by scholars as one of the finest examples of mosaic art ever seen – a "masterpiece comparable in quality with the Alexander Mosaic in Pompeii ." A specific genre of Roman mosaic
585-416: A golden background date back to the 5th and to the 8th century, although it was restored many times later. The baptistery of the basilica, which was demolished in the 15th century, had a vault covered with gold-leaf tesserae, large quantities of which were found when the site was excavated. In the small shrine of San Vittore in ciel d'oro, now a chapel of Sant'Ambrogio, every surface is covered with mosaics from
702-588: A later variant was produced for Philip II, for whom Titian painted many of his most important mythological paintings. Although Michelangelo adjudged this piece deficient from the point of view of drawing, Titian and his studio produced several versions for other patrons. Another famous painting is Bacchus and Ariadne , depicting Theseus , whose ship is shown in the distance and who has just left Ariadne at Naxos, when Bacchus arrives, jumping from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, and falling immediately in love with Ariadne. Bacchus raised her to heaven. Her constellation
819-594: A major form of artistic expression. The Roman church of Santa Costanza , which served as a mausoleum for one or more of the Imperial family, has both religious mosaic and decorative secular ceiling mosaics on a round vault, which probably represent the style of contemporary palace decoration. The mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina in Sicily are the largest collection of late Roman mosaics in situ in
936-476: A more extraordinary work, The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1530), formerly in the Dominican Church of San Zanipolo , and destroyed by an Austrian shell in 1867. Only copies and engravings of this proto- Baroque picture remain. It combined extreme violence and a landscape, mostly consisting of a great tree, that pressed into the scene and seems to accentuate the drama in a way that looks forward to
1053-520: A more intimate and delicate style, of which The Angel before St Joachim — with its pastoral backdrop, harmonious gestures and pensive lyricism – is considered a superb example. The 9th- and 10th-century mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople are truly classical Byzantine artworks. The north and south tympana beneath the dome was decorated with figures of prophets, saints and patriarchs. Above
1170-459: A new conception of the traditional groups of donors and holy persons moving in aerial space, the plans and different degrees set in an architectural framework. Titian was then at the height of his fame, and towards 1521, following the production of a figure of St. Sebastian for the papal legate in Brescia (of which there are numerous replicas), purchasers pressed for his work. To this period belongs
1287-824: A painter of some note in Venice. A fresco of Hercules on the Morosini Palace is said to have been one of Titian's earliest works. Others were the Bellini-esque so-called Gypsy Madonna in Vienna, and the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth (from the convent of Sant'Andrea), now in the Accademia , Venice. A Man with a Quilted Sleeve is an early portrait, painted around 1509 and described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568. Scholars long believed it depicted Ludovico Ariosto , but now think it
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#17328699981611404-673: A painter. The minor painter Sebastian Zuccato, whose sons became well-known mosaicists , and who may have been a family friend, arranged for the brothers to enter the studio of the elderly Gentile Bellini , from which they later transferred to that of his brother Giovanni Bellini . At that time the Bellinis, especially Giovanni, were the leading artists in the city. There Titian found a group of young men about his own age, among them Giovanni Palma da Serinalta, Lorenzo Lotto , Sebastiano Luciani , and Giorgio da Castelfranco, nicknamed Giorgione . Francesco Vecellio , Titian's older brother, later became
1521-710: A poor, incomplete copy at the Uffizi, and a mediocre engraving by Fontana. The Speech of the Marquis del Vasto (Madrid, 1541) was also partly destroyed by fire. But this period of the master's work is still represented by the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin (Venice, 1539), one of his most popular canvasses, and by the Ecce Homo ( Vienna , 1541). Despite its loss, the painting had a great influence on Bolognese art and Rubens, both in
1638-459: A purple drapery substituted for a landscape background changed, by its harmonious colouring, the whole meaning of the scene. From the beginning of his career, Titian was a masterful portrait-painter, in works like La Bella (Eleanora de Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, at the Pitti Palace ). He painted the likenesses of princes, or Doges, cardinals or monks, and artists or writers. "...no other painter
1755-460: A series of large mythological paintings known as the "poesie", mostly from Ovid , which scholars regard as among his greatest works. Thanks to the prudishness of Philip's successors, these were later mostly given as gifts, and only two remain in the Prado. Titian was producing religious works for Philip at the same time, some of which—the ones inside Ribeira Palace —are known to have been destroyed during
1872-554: A significant element of rivalry. Distinguishing between their work during this period remains a subject of scholarly controversy. A substantial number of attributions have moved from Giorgione to Titian in the 20th century, with little traffic the other way. One of the earliest known Titian works, Christ Carrying the Cross in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco , depicting the Ecce Homo scene,
1989-516: A similar iconography. 6th-century pieces are rare in Rome but the mosaics inside the triumphal arch of the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura belong to this era. The Chapel of Ss. Primo e Feliciano in Santo Stefano Rotondo has very interesting and rare mosaics from the 7th century. This chapel was built by Pope Theodore I as a family burial place. In the 7th–9th centuries Rome fell under
2106-534: A substitute for paintings; and collaborated with Domenico Campagnola and others, who produced additional prints based on his paintings and drawings. Much later he provided drawings based on his paintings to Cornelis Cort from the Netherlands who engraved them. Martino Rota followed Cort from about 1558 to 1568. Titian employed an extensive array of pigments and it can be said that he availed himself of virtually all available pigments of his time. In addition to
2223-483: A temple building in Abra, Mesopotamia , and are dated to the second half of 3rd millennium BC. They consist of pieces of colored stones, shells and ivory. Excavations at Susa and Chogha Zanbil show evidence of the first glazed tiles, dating from around 1500 BC. However, mosaic patterns were not used until the times of Sassanid Empire and Roman influence. Bronze Age pebble mosaics have been found at Tiryns ; mosaics of
2340-535: Is a panel in Hagia Sophia depicting Emperor John II and Empress Eirene with the Theotokos (1122–34). The empress with her long braided hair and rosy cheeks is especially capturing. It must be a lifelike portrayal because Eirene was really a redhead as her original Hungarian name, Piroska shows. The adjacent portrait of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos on a pier (from 1122) is similarly personal. The imperial mausoleum of
2457-522: Is an example for conscious archaization as contemporary Byzantine rulers were bearded. A mosaic panel on the gallery shows Christ with Constantine Monomachos and Empress Zoe (1042–1055). The emperor gives a bulging money sack to Christ as a donation for the church. The dome of the Hagia Sophia Church in Thessaloniki is decorated with an Ascension mosaic (c. 885). The composition resembles
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#17328699981612574-546: Is at Collontola, near Belluno. He visited Rome in 1546 and obtained the freedom of the city—his immediate predecessor in that honor having been Michelangelo in 1537. He could at the same time have succeeded the painter Sebastiano del Piombo in his lucrative office as holder of the piombo or Papal seal , and he was prepared to take Holy Orders for the purpose; but the project lapsed through his being summoned away from Venice in 1547 to paint Charles V and others in Augsburg . He
2691-449: Is considered a founder of the Venetian school of Italian Renaissance painting . During his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in colour. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, they are renowned for their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone. The exact time or date of Titian's birth
2808-522: Is known, in part, through the engravings of Fontana . After Giorgione's early death in 1510, Titian continued to paint Giorgionesque subjects for some time, though his style developed its own features, including bold and expressive brushwork. Titian's talent in fresco is shown in those he painted in 1511 at Padua in the Carmelite church and in the Scuola del Santo , some of which have been preserved, among them
2925-804: Is obvious in the apse mosaic of San Michele in Affricisco , executed in 545–547 (largely destroyed; the remains in Berlin ). The last example of Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna was commissioned by bishop Reparatus between 673 and 679 in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. The mosaic panel in the apse showing the bishop with Emperor Constantine IV is obviously an imitation of the Justinian panel in San Vitale. The mosaic pavement of
3042-508: Is of Gerolamo Barbarigo. Rembrandt borrowed the composition for his self-portraits. Titian joined Giorgione as an assistant, but many contemporary critics already found Titian's work more impressive—for example, in exterior frescoes (now almost totally destroyed) that they collaborated on for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (state-warehouse for the German merchants). Their relationship evidently contained
3159-508: Is partially preserved. The so-called Tomb of the Julii , near the crypt beneath St Peter's Basilica , is a 4th-century vaulted tomb with wall and ceiling mosaics that are given Christian interpretations. The Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki , converted into a Christian church during the course of the 4th century, was embellished with very high artistic quality mosaics. Only fragments survive of
3276-435: Is probably the most famous Byzantine mosaic in Constantinople. The Pammakaristos Monastery was restored by Michael Glabas , an imperial official, in the late 13th century. Only the mosaic decoration of the small burial chapel ( parekklesion ) of Glabas survived. This domed chapel was built by his widow, Martha around 1304–08. In the miniature dome the traditional Pantokrator can be seen with twelve prophets beneath. Unusually
3393-449: Is said) against the disparagement of some persons who caviled at the veteran's failing handicraft. Around 1560, Titian painted the oil on canvas Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria , a derivative on the motif of Madonna and Child . It is suggested that members of Titian's Venice workshop probably painted the curtain and Luke, because of the lower quality of those parts. He continued to accept commissions to
3510-527: Is shown in the sky. The painting belongs to a series commissioned from Bellini, Titian, and Dosso Dossi, for the Camerino d'Alabastro (Alabaster Room) in the Ducal Palace, Ferrara , by Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara , who in 1510 even tried to commission Michelangelo and Raphael . During the next period (1530–1550), Titian developed the style introduced by his dramatic Death of St. Peter Martyr . In 1538,
3627-418: Is the powerful, even "repellent" Flaying of Marsyas ( Kroměříž , Czech Republic ). Another violent masterpiece is Tarquin and Lucretia ( Cambridge , Fitzwilliam Museum ). For each problem he undertook, he furnished a new and more perfect formula. He never again equaled the emotion and tragedy of The Crowning with Thorns (Louvre); in the expression of the mysterious and the divine he never equaled
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3744-421: Is uncertain. When he was an old man he claimed in a letter to Philip II, King of Spain , to have been born in 1474, but this seems most unlikely. Other writers contemporary to his old age give figures that would equate to birth dates between 1473 and after 1482. Most modern scholars believe a date between 1488 and 1490 is more likely, though his age at death being 99 had been accepted into the 20th century. He
3861-679: The Portrait of Pietro Aretino of the Pitti Palace, the Portrait of Isabella of Portugal (Madrid), and the series of Emperor Charles V of the same museum, the Charles V with a Greyhound (1533), and especially the Equestrian Portrait of Charles V (1548), an equestrian picture in a symphony of purples. This state portrait of Charles V (1548) at the Battle of Mühlberg established a new genre, that of
3978-765: The camerino of Alfonso d'Este in Ferrara , The Bacchanal of the Andrians and the Worship of Venus in the Museo del Prado and the Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–23) in London , "perhaps the most brilliant productions of the neo-pagan culture or 'Alexandrianism' of the Renaissance , many times imitated but never surpassed even by Rubens himself." Finally this was the period when Titian composed
4095-816: The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake . The "poesie" series contained the following works: The poesie, except for The Death of Actaeon , were brought together for the first time in nearly 500 years in an exhibition in 2020 and 2021 that travelled from the National Gallery in London, to the Museo del Prado in Madrid, to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where it closed on January 2, 2022. Another painting that apparently remained in his studio at his death, and has been much less well known until recent decades,
4212-716: The Ancient Roman world. Mosaic today includes not just murals and pavements, but also artwork, hobby crafts, and industrial and construction forms. Mosaics have a long history, starting in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. Pebble mosaics were made in Tiryns in Mycenean Greece; mosaics with patterns and pictures became widespread in classical times, both in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome . Early Christian basilicas from
4329-585: The Basilica of San Lorenzo , mosaics executed in the late 4th and early 5th centuries depict Christ with the Apostles and the Abduction of Elijah ; these mosaics are outstanding for their bright colors, naturalism and adherence to the classical canons of order and proportion. The surviving apse mosaic of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio , which shows Christ enthroned between Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius and angels before
4446-806: The Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 15th centuries. The majority of Byzantine mosaics were destroyed without trace during wars and conquests, but the surviving remains still form a fine collection. The great buildings of Emperor Justinian like the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople , the Nea Church in Jerusalem and the rebuilt Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem were certainly embellished with mosaics but none of these survived. Important fragments survived from
4563-666: The Iconoclastic destruction of the 8th century. Among the rare examples are the 6th-century Christ in majesty (or Ezekiel's Vision ) mosaic in the apse of the Church of Hosios David in Thessaloniki that was hidden behind mortar during those dangerous times. Nine mosaic panels in the Hagios Demetrios Church , which were made between 634 and 730, also escaped destruction. Unusually almost all represent Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki , often with suppliants before him. This iconoclasm
4680-508: The Jesuit church at Antwerp. At this time also, during his visit to Rome , the artist began a series of reclining Venuses: The Venus of Urbino of the Uffizi, Venus and Love at the same museum, Venus—and the Organ-Player , Madrid, which shows the influence of contact with ancient sculpture. Giorgione had already dealt with the subject in his Dresden picture, finished by Titian, but here
4797-584: The Komnenos dynasty, the Pantokrator Monastery was certainly decorated with great mosaics but these were later destroyed. The lack of Komnenian mosaics outside the capital is even more apparent. There is only a "Communion of the Apostles" in the apse of the cathedral of Serres . A striking technical innovation of the Komnenian period was the production of very precious, miniature mosaic icons. In these icons
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4914-779: The Meeting at the Golden Gate , and three scenes ( Miracoli di sant'Antonio ) from the life of St. Anthony of Padua , The Miracle of the Jealous Husband, which depicts the Murder of a Young Woman by Her Husband , A Child Testifying to Its Mother's Innocence , and The Saint Healing the Young Man with a Broken Limb . The Resurrected Christ (Uffizi) also dates to 1511-1512. In 1512 Titian returned to Venice from Padua; in 1513 he obtained La Senseria (a profitable privilege much coveted by artists) in
5031-399: The Pietà that represented himself and his son Orazio, with a sibyl , before the Savior. He nearly finished this work, but differences arose regarding it, and he settled on being interred in his native Pieve. While the plague raged in Venice, Titian died on 27 August 1576. Depending on his unknown birthdate (see above), he was somewhere from his late eighties or even close to 100. Titian
5148-445: The 12th century. The sack of Constantinople in 1204 caused the decline of mosaic art for the next five decades. After the reconquest of the city by Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261 the Hagia Sophia was restored and a beautiful new Deesis was made on the south gallery. This huge mosaic panel with figures two and a half times lifesize is really overwhelming due to its grand scale and superlative craftsmanship. The Hagia Sophia Deesis
5265-448: The 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae , and the 4th-century BC mosaic of The Beauty of Durrës discovered in Durrës , Albania in 1916, is an early figural example; the Greek figural style was mostly formed in the 3rd century BC. Mythological subjects, or scenes of hunting or other pursuits of the wealthy, were popular as the centrepieces of a larger geometric design, with strongly emphasized borders. Pliny
5382-407: The 4th century onwards were decorated with wall and ceiling mosaics. Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 15th centuries; that tradition was adopted by the Norman Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century, by the eastern-influenced Republic of Venice , and among the Rus . Mosaic fell out of fashion in the Renaissance , though artists like Raphael continued to practice
5499-445: The 4th century, still exist. The winemaking putti in the ambulatory of Santa Constanza still follow the classical tradition in that they represent the feast of Bacchus , which symbolizes transformation or change, and are thus appropriate for a mausoleum, the original function of this building. In another great Constantinian basilica, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem the original mosaic floor with typical Roman geometric motifs
5616-443: The 5th-century Ravenna , the capital of the Western Roman Empire , became the center of late Roman mosaic art. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia was decorated with mosaics of high artistic quality in 425–430. The vaults of the small, cross-shaped structure are clad with mosaics on blue background. The central motif above the crossing is a golden cross in the middle of the starry sky. Another great building established by Galla Placidia
5733-416: The Anastasis above the doors, while in the church the Theotokos (apse), Pentecost, scenes from Christ's life and ermit St Loukas (all executed before 1048). The scenes are treated with a minimum of detail and the panels are dominated with the gold setting. The Nea Moni Monastery on Chios was established by Constantine Monomachos in 1043–1056. The exceptional mosaic decoration of the dome showing probably
5850-437: The Apostles. The surviving remains are somewhat fragmented. Massilia remained a thriving port and a Christian spiritual center in Southern Gaul where favourable societal and economic conditions ensured the survival of mosaic art in the 5th and 6th centuries. The large baptistery, once the grandest building of its kind in Western Europe, had a geometric floor mosaic which is only known from 19th century descriptions. Other parts of
5967-419: The Baroque. The artist simultaneously continued a series of small Madonnas , which he placed amid beautiful landscapes, in the manner of genre pictures or poetic pastorals. The Virgin with the Rabbit , in The Louvre , is the finished type of these pictures. Another work of the same period, also in the Louvre , is the Entombment . This was also the period of the three large and famous mythological scenes for
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#17328699981616084-410: The Dormition in Nicaea . The crosses were substituted with the image of the Theotokos in both churches after the victory of the Iconodules (787–797 and in 8th–9th centuries respectively, the Dormition church was totally destroyed in 1922). A similar Theotokos image flanked by two archangels were made for the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in 867. The dedication inscription says: "The images which
6201-408: The Elder mentions the artist Sosus of Pergamon by name, describing his mosaics of the food left on a floor after a feast and of a group of doves drinking from a bowl. Both of these themes were widely copied. Greek figural mosaics could have been copied or adapted paintings, a far more prestigious artform, and the style was enthusiastically adopted by the Romans so that large floor mosaics enriched
6318-429: The Empire, which for a painter was an exceptional honor. This appointment allowed him to gain royal patronage and work on prestigious commissions. As a matter of professional and worldly success, his position from about this time is regarded as equal only to that of Raphael , Michelangelo and, at a later date, Rubens . In 1540 he received a pension from d'Avalos, marquis del Vasto, and an annuity of 200 crowns (which
6435-423: The Fondaco dei Tedeschi. He became superintendent of the government works, especially charged with completing the paintings left unfinished by Giovanni Bellini in the hall of the great council in the ducal palace . He set up an atelier on the Grand Canal at S. Samuele, the precise site being now unknown. It was not until 1516, after the death of Giovanni Bellini, that he came into actual enjoyment of his patent. At
6552-419: The Great's Hunt and the Four Seasons . In 1913 the Zliten mosaic , a Roman mosaic famous for its many scenes from gladiatorial contests, hunting and everyday life, was discovered in the Libyan town of Zliten . In 2000 archaeologists working in Leptis Magna , Libya , uncovered a 30 ft length of five colorful mosaics created during the 1st or 2nd century AD. The mosaics show a warrior in combat with
6669-562: The Islamic world after the 8th century, except for geometrical patterns in techniques such as zellij , which remain popular in many areas. Modern mosaics are made by artists and craftspeople around the world. Many materials other than traditional stone, ceramic tesserae, enameled and stained glass may be employed, including shells, beads, charms, chains, gears, coins, and pieces of costume jewelry. Traditional mosaics are made of small cubes of roughly square pieces of stone or hand made glass enamel of different colours, known as tesserae . Some of
6786-512: The Jesuits, Venice; St. Jerome , Louvre; Crucifixion , Church of San Domenico, Ancona). Titian had engaged his daughter Lavinia, the beautiful girl whom he loved deeply and painted various times, to Cornelio Sarcinelli of Serravalle. She had succeeded her aunt Orsa, then deceased, as the manager of the household, which, with the lordly income that Titian made by this time, placed her on a corresponding footing. Lavinia's marriage to Cornelio took place in 1554. She died in childbirth in 1560. Titian
6903-407: The Venetian government, dissatisfied with Titian's neglect of his work for the ducal palace, ordered him to refund the money he had received, and Il Pordenone , his rival of recent years, was installed in his place. However, at the end of a year Pordenone died, and Titian, who meanwhile applied himself diligently to painting in the hall the Battle of Cadore , was reinstated. This major battle scene
7020-493: The Vrina Plain basilica of Butrint , Albania appear to pre-date that of the Baptistery by almost a generation, dating to the last quarter of the 5th or the first years of the 6th century. The mosaic displays a variety of motifs including sea-creatures, birds, terrestrial beasts, fruits, flowers, trees and abstracts – designed to depict a terrestrial paradise of God's creation. Superimposed on this scheme are two large tablets, tabulae ansatae, carrying inscriptions. A variety of fish,
7137-403: The application and use of colour, exerted a profound influence not only on painters of the late Italian Renaissance , but on future generations of Western artists . His career was successful from the start, and he became sought after by patrons, initially from Venice and its possessions, then joined by the north Italian princes, and finally the Habsburgs and papacy. Along with Giorgione , he
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#17328699981617254-409: The artist moved on from his early Giorgionesque style, undertook larger, more complex subjects, and for the first time attempted a monumental style. Giorgione died in 1510 and Giovanni Bellini in 1516, leaving Titian unrivaled in the Venetian School. For sixty years he was the undisputed master of Venetian painting. In 1516, he completed his famous masterpiece, the Assumption of the Virgin , for
7371-470: The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore . The 27 surviving panels of the nave are the most important mosaic cycle in Rome of this period. Two other important 5th century mosaics are lost but we know them from 17th-century drawings. In the apse mosaic of Sant'Agata dei Goti (462–472, destroyed in 1589) Christ was seated on a globe with the twelve Apostles flanking him, six on either side. At Sant'Andrea in Catabarbara (468–483, destroyed in 1686) Christ appeared in
7488-417: The center, flanked on either side by three Apostles. Four streams flowed from the little mountain supporting Christ. The original 5th-century apse mosaic of the Santa Sabina was replaced by a very similar fresco by Taddeo Zuccari in 1559. The composition probably remained unchanged: Christ flanked by male and female saints, seated on a hill while lambs drinking from a stream at its feet. All three mosaics had
7605-461: The common pigments of the Renaissance period, such as ultramarine , vermilion , lead-tin yellow , ochres , and azurite , he also used the rare pigments realgar and orpiment . Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster / mortar , and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly popular in
7722-407: The decoration scheme first used in Emperor Basil I 's Nea Ekklesia . Not only this prototype was later totally destroyed but each surviving composition is battered so it is necessary to move from church to church to reconstruct the system. An interesting set of Macedonian-era mosaics make up the decoration of the Hosios Loukas Monastery. In the narthex there is the Crucifixion, the Pantokrator and
7839-400: The earliest mosaics were made of natural pebbles, originally used to reinforce floors. Mosaic skinning (covering objects with mosaic glass) is done with thin enameled glass and opaque stained glass. Modern mosaic art is made from any material in any size ranging from carved stone, bottle caps, and found objects. The earliest known examples of mosaics made of different materials were found at
7956-402: The end of his life. Like many of his late works, Titian's last painting, the Pietà , is a dramatic, nocturnal scene of suffering. He apparently intended it for his own tomb chapel. He had selected, as his burial place, the chapel of the Crucifix in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of the Franciscan Order. In payment for a grave, he offered the Franciscans a picture of
8073-423: The episcopal complex were also decorated with mosaics as new finds, that were unearthed in the 2000s, attest. The funerary basilica of Saint Victor , built in a quarry outside the walls, was decorated with mosaics but only a small fragment with blue and green scrolls survived on the intrados of an arch (the basilica was later buried under a medieval abbey). A mosaic pavement depicting humans, animals and plants from
8190-474: The famous Bikini Girls , showing women undertaking a range of sporting activities in garments that resemble 20th Century bikinis . The peristyle , the imperial apartments and the thermae were also decorated with ornamental and mythological mosaics. Other important examples of Roman mosaic art in Sicily were unearthed on the Piazza Vittoria in Palermo where two houses were discovered. The most important scenes there depicted are an Orpheus mosaic , Alexander
8307-598: The floors of Hellenistic villas and Roman dwellings from Britain to Dura-Europos . Most recorded names of Roman mosaic workers are Greek, suggesting they dominated high quality work across the empire; no doubt most ordinary craftsmen were slaves. Splendid mosaic floors are found in Roman villas across North Africa , in places such as Carthage , and can still be seen in the extensive collection in Bardo Museum in Tunis , Tunisia . There were two main techniques in Greco-Roman mosaic: opus vermiculatum used tiny tesserae , typically cubes of 4 millimeters or less, and
8424-581: The grand equestrian portrait. The composition is steeped both in the Roman tradition of equestrian sculpture and in the medieval representations of an ideal Christian knight, but the weary figure and face have a subtlety few such representations attempt. In 1532, after painting a portrait of the emperor Charles V in Bologna, he was made a Count Palatine and knight of the Golden Spur . His children were also made nobles of
8541-599: The great baptistries in Ravenna , with apostles standing between palms and Christ in the middle. The scheme is somewhat unusual as the standard post-Iconoclastic formula for domes contained only the image of the Pantokrator . There are very few existing mosaics from the Komnenian period but this paucity must be due to accidents of survival and gives a misleading impression. The only surviving 12th-century mosaic work in Constantinople
8658-523: The half-length figures and busts of young women, such as Flora in the Uffizi and Woman with a Mirror in the Louvre. At least according to popular legend, they were modeled by some of Venice's famous courtesans . Titian's skill with colour is exemplified by his Danaë , one of several mythological paintings, or "poesie" ("poems"), as the painter called them. This painting was done for Alessandro Farnese, but
8775-593: The handling of details and the general effect of horses, soldiers, lictors, powerful stirrings of crowds at the foot of a stairway, lit by torches with the flapping of banners against the sky. Less successful were the pendentives of the cupola at Santa Maria della Salute ( Death of Abel , Sacrifice of Abraham , David and Goliath ). These violent scenes viewed in perspective from below were by their very nature in unfavourable situations. They were nevertheless much admired and imitated, Rubens among others applying this system to his forty ceilings (the sketches only remain) of
8892-518: The hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Water-birds and fish and other sea-creatures can indicate baptism as well as the members of the Church who are christened. Christian mosaic art also flourished in Rome, gradually declining as conditions became more difficult in the Early Middle Ages . 5th century mosaics can be found over the triumphal arch and in the nave of
9009-523: The high altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari , where it is still in situ . This piece of colourism, executed on a grand scale rarely before seen in Italy, created a sensation. The Signoria took note and observed that Titian was neglecting his work in the hall of the great council, but in 1516 he succeeded his master Giovanni Bellini in receiving a pension from the Senate. Furthermore, he painted
9126-593: The impostors had cast down here pious emperors have again set up." In the 870s the so-called large sekreton of the Great Palace of Constantinople was decorated with the images of the four great iconodule patriarchs. The post-Iconoclastic era was the heyday of Byzantine art with the most beautiful mosaics executed. The mosaics of the Macedonian Renaissance (867–1056) carefully mingled traditionalism with innovation. Constantinopolitan mosaics of this age followed
9243-664: The influence of Byzantine art, noticeable on the mosaics of Santa Prassede , Santa Maria in Domnica , Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura , Santa Cecilia in Trastevere , Santi Nereo e Achilleo and the San Venanzio chapel of San Giovanni in Laterano . The great dining hall of Pope Leo III in the Lateran Palace was also decorated with mosaics. They were all destroyed later except for one example,
9360-577: The mosaic floor of the Great Palace of Constantinople which was commissioned during Justinian 's reign. The figures, animals, plants all are entirely classical but they are scattered before a plain background. The portrait of a moustached man, probably a Gothic chieftain, is considered the most important surviving mosaic of the Justinianian age. The so-called small sekreton of the palace was built during Justin II 's reign around 565–577. Some fragments survive from
9477-577: The mosaic of the Exaltation of Adam. In the apse the Ascension of Christ. The Annunciation occupies the two pillars next to the altar." The Daphni Monastery houses the best preserved complex of mosaics from the early Comnenan period (ca. 1100) when the austere and hieratic manner typical for the Macedonian epoch and represented by the awesome Christ Pantocrator image inside the dome, was metamorphosing into
9594-695: The mosaics of this vaulted room. The vine scroll motifs are very similar to those in the Santa Constanza and they still closely follow the Classical tradition. There are remains of floral decoration in the Church of the Acheiropoietos in Thessaloniki (5th–6th centuries). In the 6th century, Ravenna , the capital of Byzantine Italy, became the center of mosaic making. Istria also boasts some important examples from this era. The Euphrasian Basilica in Parentium
9711-415: The nine orders of the angels was destroyed in 1822 but other panels survived (Theotokos with raised hands, four evangelists with seraphim, scenes from Christ's life and an interesting Anastasis where King Salomon bears resemblance to Constantine Monomachos). In comparison with Osios Loukas Nea Moni mosaics contain more figures, detail, landscape and setting. Another great undertaking by Constantine Monomachos
9828-699: The old technique. Roman and Byzantine influence led Jewish artists to decorate 5th and 6th century synagogues in the Middle East with floor mosaics. Figurative mosaic, but mostly without human figures, was widely used on religious buildings and palaces in early Islamic art , including Islam's first great religious building, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus . Such mosaics went out of fashion in
9945-509: The original 4th-century cathedral of Aquileia has survived in the later medieval church. This mosaic adopts pagan motifs such as the Nilotic scene, but behind the traditional naturalistic content is Christian symbolism such as the ichthys . The 6th-century early Christian basilicas of Sant' Eufemia it:Basilica di Sant'Eufemia (Grado) and Santa Maria delle Grazie in Grado also have mosaic floors. In
10062-523: The original decoration, especially a band depicting saints with hands raised in prayer, in front of complex architectural fantasies. In the following century Ravenna , the capital of the Western Roman Empire , became the center of late Roman mosaic art (see details in Ravenna section). Milan also served as the capital of the western empire in the 4th century. In the St Aquilinus Chapel of
10179-475: The plague, greatly complicating the settlement of his estate, as he had made no will. Titian never attempted engraving , but he was very conscious of the importance of printmaking as a means to expand his reputation. In the period 1515–1520 he designed a number of woodcuts , including an enormous and impressive one of The Drowning of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea , in twelve blocks, intended as wall decoration as
10296-632: The poetry of the Pilgrims of Emmaus ; while in superb and heroic brilliancy he never again executed anything more grand than The Doge Grimani adoring Faith (Venice, Doge's Palace), or the Trinity , of Madrid. On the other hand, from the standpoint of flesh tints, his most moving pictures are those of his old age, such as the poesie and the Antiope of the Louvre. He even attempted problems of chiaroscuro in fantastic night effects ( Martyrdom of St. Laurence , Church of
10413-676: The pope with a model of the church (destroyed in 1607). The fragment of an 8th-century mosaic, the Epiphany is one of the very rare remaining pieces of the medieval decoration of Old St. Peter's Basilica , demolished in the late 16th century. The precious fragment is kept in the sacristy of Santa Maria in Cosmedin . It proves the high artistic quality of the destroyed St. Peter's mosaics. Mosaics were more central to Byzantine culture than to that of Western Europe. Byzantine church interiors were generally covered with golden mosaics. Mosaic art flourished in
10530-401: The principal door from the narthex we can see an Emperor kneeling before Christ (late 9th or early 10th century). Above the door from the southwest vestibule to the narthex another mosaic shows the Theotokos with Justinian and Constantine . Justinian I is offering the model of the church to Mary while Constantine is holding a model of the city in his hand. Both emperors are beardless – this
10647-601: The retable of San Niccolò (1523), in the Vatican Museums , each time attaining to a higher and more perfect conception. He finally reached a classic formula in the Pesaro Madonna , better known as the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro (c. 1519–1526), also for the Frari church. This is perhaps his most studied work, whose patiently developed plan is set forth with supreme display of order and freedom, originality and style. Here Titian gave
10764-408: The richness of God's creation; some elements also have specific connotations. The kantharos vase and vine refer to the eucharist , the symbol of the sacrifice of Christ leading to salvation. Peacocks are symbols of paradise and resurrection; shown eating or drinking from the vase they indicate the route to eternal life. Deer or stags were commonly used as images of the faithful aspiring to Christ: "As
10881-408: The same time he entered an exclusive arrangement for painting. The patent yielded him a good annuity of 20 crowns and exempted him from certain taxes. In return, he was bound to paint likenesses of the successive Doges of his time at the fixed price of eight crowns each. The actual number he painted was five. During this period (1516–1530), which may be called the period of his mastery and maturity,
10998-415: The second half of the 5th century. Saint Victor is depicted in the center of the golden dome, while figures of saints are shown on the walls before a blue background. The low spandrels give space for the symbols of the four Evangelists. Albingaunum was the main Roman port of Liguria . The octagonal baptistery of the town was decorated in the 5th century with high quality blue and white mosaics representing
11115-485: The second half of the 6th century. Outstanding examples of Byzantine mosaic art are the later phase mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale and Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. The mosaic depicting Emperor Saint Justinian I and Empress Theodora in the Basilica of San Vitale were executed shortly after the Byzantine conquest. The mosaics of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe were made around 549. The anti-Arian theme
11232-645: The similar painting of Assumption of the Virgin above the altar in Dubrovnik Cathedral , in Ragusa (now Croatia ). The pictorial structure of the Assumption —that of uniting in the same composition two or three scenes superimposed on different levels, earth and heaven, the temporal and the infinite—was continued in a series of works such as the retable of San Domenico at Ancona (1520), the retable of Brescia (1522), and
11349-462: The small tesserae (with sides of 1 mm or less) were set on wax or resin on a wooden panel. These products of extraordinary craftmanship were intended for private devotion. The Louvre Transfiguration is a very fine example from the late 12th century. The miniature mosaic of Christ in the Museo Nazionale at Florence illustrates the more gentle, humanistic conception of Christ which appeared in
11466-467: The so-called Triclinio Leoniano of which a copy was made in the 18th century. Another great work of Pope Leo, the apse mosaic of Santa Susanna , depicted Christ with the Pope and Charlemagne on one side, and SS. Susanna and Felicity on the other. It was plastered over during a renovation in 1585. Pope Paschal I (817–824) embellished the church of Santo Stefano del Cacco with an apsidal mosaic which depicted
11583-669: The tradition in the 6th century, as the mosaics of the Arian Baptistry , Baptistry of Neon , Archbishop's Chapel , and the earlier phase mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale and Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo testify. After 539, Ravenna was reconquered by the Romans in the form of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and became the seat of the Exarchate of Ravenna . The greatest development of Christian mosaics unfolded in
11700-578: The world, and are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The large villa rustica , which was probably owned by Emperor Maximian , was built largely in the early 4th century. The mosaics were covered and protected for 700 years by a landslide that occurred in the 12th Century. The most important pieces are the Circus Scene , the 64m long Great Hunting Scene , the Little Hunt , the Labours of Hercules and
11817-547: Was afterwards doubled) from Charles V from the treasury of Milan . Another source of profit, for he was always aware of money, was a contract obtained in 1542 for supplying grain to Cadore, where he visited almost every year and where he was both generous and influential. Titian had a favourite villa on the neighboring Manza Hill (in front of the church of Castello Roganzuolo ) from which (it may be inferred) he made his chief observations of landscape form and effect. The so-called Titian's mill, constantly discernible in his studies,
11934-453: Was almost certainly because of nearby Muslims' beliefs. In the Iconoclastic era , figural mosaics were also condemned as idolatry. The Iconoclastic churches were embellished with plain gold mosaics with only one great cross in the apse like the Hagia Irene in Constantinople (after 740). There were similar crosses in the apses of the Hagia Sophia Church in Thessaloniki and in the Church of
12051-610: Was an Italian Renaissance painter , the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting . He was born in Pieve di Cadore , near Belluno . During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore , 'from Cadore ', taken from his native region. Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the final line of Dante's Paradiso ), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in
12168-595: Was at the Council of Trent towards 1555, of which there is a finished sketch in the Louvre. His friend Aretino died suddenly in 1556, and another close intimate, the sculptor and architect Jacopo Sansovino , in 1570. In September 1565 Titian went to Cadore and designed the decorations for the church at Pieve, partly executed by his pupils. One of these is a Transfiguration, another an Annunciation (now in San Salvatore, Venice), inscribed Titianus fecit , by way of protest (it
12285-460: Was built in the middle of the 6th century and decorated with mosaics depicting the Theotokos flanked by angels and saints. Fragments remain from the mosaics of the Church of Santa Maria Formosa in Pola . These pieces were made during the 6th century by artists from Constantinople. Their pure Byzantine style is different from the contemporary Ravennate mosaics. Very few early Byzantine mosaics survived
12402-405: Was called asaroton (Greek for "unswept floor"). It depicted in trompe-l'œil style the feast leftovers on the floors of wealthy houses. With the building of Christian basilicas in the late 4th century, wall and ceiling mosaics were adopted for Christian uses. The earliest examples of Christian basilicas have not survived, but the mosaics of Santa Constanza and Santa Pudenziana , both from
12519-467: Was completed in 1519 and frescoed by Il Pordenone until 1520. The decoration was completed in around 1523, and this Annunciation was executed by Titian around that period, perhaps with the help of Paris Bordone . The face of the donor was possibly repainted after 1526. Lorenzo Lotto was inspired by this work for his Recanati Annunciation . The painting depicts the Annunciation in a church with
12636-559: Was interred in the Frari (Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari ), as at first intended, and his Pietà was finished by Palma il Giovane . He lies near his own famous painting, the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro. No memorial marked his grave. Much later the Austrian rulers of Venice commissioned Antonio Canova to sculpt the large monument still in the church. Very shortly after Titian's death, his son, assistant and sole heir Orazio , also died of
12753-543: Was laid on site. There was a distinct native Italian style using black on a white background, which was no doubt cheaper than fully coloured work. In Rome, Nero and his architects used mosaics to cover some surfaces of walls and ceilings in the Domus Aurea , built 64 AD, and wall mosaics are also found at Pompeii and neighbouring sites. However it seems that it was not until the Christian era that figural wall mosaics became
12870-552: Was long regarded as by Giorgione. The two young masters were likewise recognized as the leaders of their new school of arte moderna , which is characterized by paintings made more flexible, freed from symmetry and the remnants of hieratic conventions still found in the works of Giovanni Bellini. In 1507–1508, Giorgione was commissioned by the state to create frescoes on the re-erected Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Titian and Morto da Feltre worked along with him, and some fragments of paintings remain, probably by Giorgione. Some of their work
12987-678: Was lost—with many other major works by Venetian artists—in the 1577 fire that destroyed all the old pictures in the great chambers of the Doge's Palace. It depicted in life-size the moment when the Venetian general d'Alviano attacked the enemy, with horses and men crashing down into a stream. It was Titian's most important attempt at a tumultuous and heroic scene of movement to rival Raphael 's Battle of Constantine , Michelangelo's equally ill-fated Battle of Cascina , and Leonardo da Vinci 's The Battle of Anghiari (these last two unfinished). There remains only
13104-417: Was produced in workshops in relatively small panels which were transported to the site glued to some temporary support. The tiny tesserae allowed very fine detail, and an approach to the illusionism of painting. Often small panels called emblemata were inserted into walls or as the highlights of larger floor-mosaics in coarser work. The normal technique was opus tessellatum , using larger tesserae, which
13221-418: Was so successful in extracting from each physiognomy so many traits at once characteristic and beautiful". Among portrait-painters Titian is compared to Rembrandt and Velázquez , with the interior life of the former, and the clearness, certainty, and obviousness of the latter. These qualities show in the Portrait of Pope Paul III of Naples , or the sketch of the same Pope Paul III and his Grandsons ,
13338-449: Was the church of San Giovanni Evangelista . She erected it in fulfillment of a vow that she made having escaped from a deadly storm in 425 on the sea voyage from Constantinople to Ravenna. The mosaics depicted the storm, portraits of members of the western and eastern imperial family and the bishop of Ravenna, Peter Chrysologus . They are known only from Renaissance sources because almost all were destroyed in 1747. Ostrogoths kept alive
13455-532: Was the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem between 1042 and 1048. Nothing survived of the mosaics which covered the walls and the dome of the edifice but the Russian abbot Daniel, who visited Jerusalem in 1106–1107 left a description: "Lively mosaics of the holy prophets are under the ceiling, over the tribune. The altar is surmounted by a mosaic image of Christ. In the main altar one can see
13572-540: Was the son of Gregorio Vecellio and his wife Lucia, of whom little is known. Gregorio was superintendent of the castle of Pieve di Cadore and managed local mines for their owners. Gregorio was also a distinguished councilor and soldier. Many relatives, including Titian's grandfather, were notaries , and the family was well-established in the area, which was ruled by Venice. At the age of about ten to twelve Titian and his brother Francesco (who perhaps followed later) were sent to an uncle in Venice to find an apprenticeship with
13689-823: Was there again in 1550, and executed the portrait of Philip II , which was sent to England and was useful in Philip's suit for the hand of Queen Mary . During the last twenty-six years of his life (1550–1576), Titian worked mainly for Philip II and as a portrait-painter. He became more self-critical, an insatiable perfectionist, keeping some pictures in his studio for ten years—returning to them and retouching them, constantly adding new expressions at once more refined, concise, and subtle. He also finished many copies that his pupils made of his earlier works. This caused problems of attribution and priority among versions of his works—which were also widely copied and faked outside his studio during his lifetime and afterwards. For Philip II, he painted
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