Titian Drawings: Colour Plates

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) was the greatest painter of the Venetian School. Titian was recognized as a towering genius in his own time (Lomazzo described him as the 'sun amidst small stars not only among the Italians but all the painters of the world') and his reputation as one of the giants of art has never been seriously questioned. Drawings by Titian are exceedingly rare. Known in his paintings for exploring the effects of light on surfaces, Titian here showed that he could achieve similar results with line. His meticulous execution and concern for detail suggest the light, space, and variety of physical forms in his drawings. He suggested textures through varying styles of line, carefully and economically placed hatchings even created air with line, as in the atmosphere that envelops the objects. Unfortunately, there are survived only thirty-five to forty known drawings by Titian, though he was a prolific painter.