Venus of Urbino, 1538
Tiziano Vicellio Titian
Oil on canvas

The Venus of Urbino (1538) is an oil painting by the Italian master Titian. It depicts a nude young woman, identified with the goddess Venus, reclining on a couch or bed in the sumptuous surroundings of a Renaissance palace. It hangs in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.

The pose is based on Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus (c. 1510), which also is displayed below, but Titian uses more sensuality in comparison to Giorgione’s sublime remoteness.

Devoid as it is of any classical or allegorical trappings (‘Venus’ displays none of the attributes of the goddess she is supposed to represent), the painting is unapologetically sexy.

The frankness of Venus’ expression is often noted; she stares straight at the viewer, unconcerned with her nudity. In her right hand she holds a posy of flowers whilst her left covers her pubic area, provocatively placed in the centre of the composition. In the near background a dog, symbolising fidelity, is asleep.

The painting was commissioned by Guidobaldo II della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino. It would originally have decorated a cassone, a chest traditionally given in Italy as a wedding present. The maids in the background are shown rummaging through a similar chest, apparently in search of the Venus’s clothes. Curiously, given its overtly erotic content, the painting was intended as an instructive ‘model’ for Giulia Varano, the Duke’s extremely young bride. The argument for the painting’s didacticism was made by the late art historian Rona Goffen in 1997’s “Sex, Space, and Social History in Titian’s Venus of Urbino.”

In his 1880 travelogue A Tramp Abroad, Mark Twain called the Venus of Urbino “the foulest, the vilest, the obscenest picture the world possesses”. He proposed that “it was painted for a bagnio and it was probably refused because it was a trifle too strong’, adding humorously that “in truth, it is a trifle too strong for any place but a public art gallery”.

Venus of Urbino inspired the later painting Olympia by Edouard Manet, in which the figure of Venus was replaced with a prostitute.

 

 

Venus Emerging from the Sea, 1525 Tiziano Vecellio Titian Oil on canvas

The greatest painter of the Venetian School. The evidence for his birthdate is contradictory, but he was certainly very old when he died. He was probably a pupil of Giovanni Bellini, and in his early work he came under the spell of Giorgione, with whom he had a close relationship. In 1508 he assisted him with the external fresco decoration of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, and after Giorgione’s early death in 1510 it fell to Titian to complete a number of his unfinished paintings. The authorship of certain works (some of them famous) is still disputed between them.

Woman with a Mirror, 1513 by Tiziano Vecellio Titian Oil on canvas

Empress Isabel of Portugal, 1548 by Tiziano Vecellio Titian Oil on canvas

 

The Infanta Isabel, commonly referred to in English as Isabella of Portugal (October 23, 1503 – May 1, 1539) was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also Holy Roman Empress and Queen consort of Aragon and Castile.

tags: artsunday

deletereply jayaramanms wrote on May 3, ’08 Titian, the Italian painter was a great master of religious art, a portraitist in demand all over Europe, and the creator of mythological compositions which for inventiveness and decorative beauty have never been surpassed. I have seen some of his works and enjoyed. Your presentation is beautiful and great. Thank you Laurita for sharing. My entry for Art Sunday of Paintings of Jamini Roy (Bengali, Indian) is at – http://tinyurl.com/4fr9oy. Please visit.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 3, ’08 Thanks, jay. I’m coming over !

deletereply starfishred wrote on May 3, ’08 Oh I just love Titian I did a paper for college on him.I hated religiouse art but had to do the report so in the end when I discovered his other side the day was saved.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 3, ’08 Heidi, thanks for your comment. My favorite is the first one, Venus. That’s the one I saw by him first. Just beautiful.

deletereply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 3, ’08 Titian was known for his reds and the Empress Isabel is a good example. He gets the skin tones to perfection and the hair is so beautifully done it looks real. The velvet dress is magnificent, and the jewels are lovely too. Beautiful work and great post.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 3, ’08 I love those colors he uses on the Empress of Portugal, too. Those firey colors are so amazing.

deletereply philsgal7759 wrote on May 3, ’08 I love all his works. He was a brillant arist

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editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 4, ’08 I love all his works, too, but I would say that the Venus of Urbino caught my eye first.

deletereply wickedlyinnocent wrote on May 4, ’08 The naked lady at the Uffizi, my sons stared at her for a while during their first visit to Florence and then commented something like “she’s ok, in spite of short puffy legs and a bit fat “. It was one of their first Tizianos. Their second, I guess, the Fur at the KHM was the first. The painting from the Louvre I’ve seen too and , of course, the lovely Isabel ( she was not the empress of Portugal, she was the daughter of the Portuguese king), the daughter and wife of the two most powerful men in Europe, it’s a beautiful painting, it shines in that room of El Prado. BTW, call him just Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian, in France he’s Titien, in German speaking countries he’s Tizian, no need for a long name, he’s too famous. Thanks for participating, Laurita, have a great week.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 4, ’08 Thanks for all that great information, Lina !

deletereply nemo4sun wrote on May 4, ’08 now i’m feeling all snuggly 🙂

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 4, ’08 nemo, I could always count on you for your enlightening comments (just kidding), LOL!!!

deletereply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 4, ’08 Who can not love Titian?….his women are so real, their flesh almost moves. And this is presented so well with the music, the paintings, a real experience.Thank You

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on May 4, ’08 forgetmenot, thank you so much for your kind comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed my Art Sunday post.