Titian and Venetian Painting, 1450-1590

by Bruce Cole

This up-to-date, well-illustrated, and thoughtful introduction to the life and works of one of the giants of Western Painting also surveys the golden age of Venetian Painting from Giovanni Bellini to Veronese and its place in the history of Western art. Bruce Cole, Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University and author of numerous books on Italian Renaissance art, begins with the life and work of Giovanni Bellini, the principal founder of Venetian Renaissance painting. He continues with the paintings of Giorgione and the young Titian whose work embodied the new Venetian style. Cole discusses and explains all of Titian's major works--portraits, religious paintings, and nudes--from various points of view and shows how Venetian painting of this period differed from painting in Florence and elsewhere in Italy and became a distinct and fully-developed style of its own.

Genres: Art, Renaissance

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce Cole, the author of this book, wrote several books on Renaissance painting, and it is noteworthy that he regarded Titian as the most important painter of his time. “the dominant force in 16th century European art”. This is saying a lot, considering the competition, such as Raphael and Michelangelo.

This book covers the history of the Venetian school of painting: especially Titian, but also the artists who came before Titian and came after him. There are 127 paintings and drawings included. Most of them are in black and white, but with the Internet at hand, the reader can easily see colored versions of them, while reading Cole’s commentaries.

Cole differentiates the Venetian tradition of painting from the “central Italian” tradition: Florence and Rome. Probably the most important difference was that Florentine artists did very lengthy planning before starting on a painting, making countless preliminary sketches and drawings, while Venetian artists sort of made it up as they went along. Also, the Florentine artists were careful about the spatial and architectural aspects of their paintings, while the Venetians tended to be illogical about the spatial aspects, but their work was dramatic and somehow believable.

Cole says that Titian was not an avant-garde artist. He always respected tradition. But he usually put some sort in inventive spin on his work.

Titian had a long career – twice as long as Raphael’s – and he did a great deal of work in several categories. The first was religious paintings. There was a set of standard themes that artists tried their hands on: The Entombment, The Lamentation, The Assumption, etc.

Titian did a lot of work in Greek and Roman mythology, illustrating tales that are unfamiliar to us. The pictures quite often involved naked nymphs, goddesses, and targets of the god Zeus. Titian was talented at erotic art.

Titian was definitely not a starving artist – he had more commissions then he could handle. But his biggest revenue source was portraits. He did portraits for popes, dukes, princes, and even the Holy Roman Emperor.

In Cole’s opinion Titian influenced the development of European art into the 20th century: Rubens, Velazquez, Turner, and even Manet. Cole says Rembrandt was dazzled by Titian.

[Yusei158 · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

[Phoebe Pavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me want to paint. Great book.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Love reading Bruce Cole. So clear and puts each work in the larger perspective .