Titian is the greatest of all Venetian painters and in studying his remarkably long career we shall see how he radically developed the possibilities of the oil-technique introduced to Venice by Antonio Da Messina and then taken up by the Venetian Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione. We shall also study what his extraordinary portraits of the leading men of his time tell us about contemporary history and especially his development of sensuous and dramatic mythological paintings. Lists of slides will be provided.
TUTOR
Leslie Pitcher (B.A. Cantab.) has a degree in Classical Literature and Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge. He lectures for NADFAS, WEA, and U3A. He has also lectured at Brompton Oratory on Religious Art. His particular interest is in the Classical tradition in art from the ancient world to the Renaissance.
09.45 Registration
10.00 (1.) From Antonello to the Early Titian
Antonello da Messina’s introduction of oil to Venice, its ability to portray minute detail but also the softening of his outlines in his later pictures, which is taken up by Bellini in his light-filled masterpieces. Giorgione’s development of this to include mysterious scenes set in idyllic landscapes and their enormous influence on the early Titian.
11.00 Coffee and Tea
11.30- (2.) Titian – Early and Middle Works
Titian’s brightly lit early and middle portraits and mythological paintings, with some close-up details showing his increasing use of semi-transparent glazes to create mysterious shadowy effects. The artist’s patronage by the leading Italian rulers of his day, and contemporary references in his religious and mythological paintings as well as portraits.
12.30-1.30 Lunch by Daisy’s – Tea and Coffee
1.30-2.30 (3.) Titian – Later Portraits and Mythologies
Titian’s later technique with its darker palette but also highly dramatic contrasts of light and shade, together with an increasingly ‘impressionistic’ outline. A detailed study of the sensuous mythological paintings commissioned by Philip II, of Spain.