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Titian Facts

Titian Facts
Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) was an Italian 16th century Renaissance painter, born in Pieve di Cadore, Veneto (Republic of Venice) between 1488 and 1490, although in his later years he claimed to have been born in 1474. His father Gregorio Vecelli was a castle superintendent and his wife, and Titian's mother was Lucia Vecelli. When he was 12 Titian was sent to Venice to become a painter's apprentice to Gentile Bellini, and later Giovanni Bellini. Titian later worked with Giorgione before going to work on his own. He eventually became a leading artist of his time and created works for the royal family.
Interesting Titian Facts:
Titian had three younger siblings. He spent his early childhood growing up near the Dolomite Mountains in Pieve di Cadore.
When Titian was 12 he was sent to Venice and his uncle, a minor painter named Sebastian Zuccato helped him to go to work under Gentile Bellini.
One of Titian's earliest works was "Christ Carrying the Cross", which was believed for many years to have been Giorgione's work.
Titian painted "A Man with a Quilted Sleeve" in approximately 1509. This painting now sits in the National Gallery in London.
Titian became recognized as one the leading artists of his time in Venice in 1518 when he completed the "Assumption of the Virgin". This was an altarpiece for the high altar of the church Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. He worked on the piece from 1516 to 1518.
Titian's next project following "Assumption of the Virgin" was "The Worship of Venus" which he completed in 1519 for Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara.
Titian lived at the Vatican for six months while working on two portraits of Pope Paul III.
From 1516 to 1530, Titian mastered his own style, and when Giorgione and Giovanni died, Titian became the master of Venetian painting.
Titian painted a portrait of Charles V in 1548.
Between 1550 and 1576 the majority of Titian's work was for Philip II, as a portrait painter.
Titian created a series of paintings for Philip II known as the Poesie. In this series Titian painted "Venus and Adonis", "Danae", "Diana and Actaeon", "Diana and Callisto", "Perseus and Andromeda", "The Rape of Europa", and "The Death of Actaeon".
Some consider Titian's work "The Crowning with Thorns", painted between 1542 and 1543, to be the greatest picture ever painted. It is housed in the Louvre in Paris today.
Titian married a barber's daughter Cecilia, and had two sons and a daughter with her. Cecilia died in 1530, and Titian remarried and had another daughter. When his second wife died he had another child with his housekeeper.
Titian's daughter Lavinia died in childbirth in 1560.
Titian died on August 27th, 1576, of the plague, while in Venice. His son died only a few later, also of the plague.
It is estimated that Titian created approximately 400 works of art in his lifetime however only about 300 still exist. His work is on display around the word in galleries, museums, and private collections.


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