Past Exhibition

Titian, Prince of Painters

A partially nude woman with pale, peachy skin sits to our left looking into a mirror held up by a nearly nude, winged child to our right in this vertical painting. The woman’s body is angled to our left but she looks across her body to our right. She holds her left hand to her chest, and her right hand grips the fur-lined edge of the scarlet-red, velvet fabric that drapes over that upper arm and around her hips. Her blond hair is coiled up in rows of pearls, and she has dark eyes, a straight nose, and her pale pink lips turn up in a subtle smile. A teardrop pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see, and she wears rings and gold bracelets. The child-like figure to the right stands on a gold-striped cushion facing away from us as he holds up the rectangular, black-framed mirror. He has small silver wings and a sash of golden yellow hangs from one shoulder around the opposite hip. A second child reaches from behind the mirror to hold up a ring of laurel leaves. A forest-green curtain is gathered in the upper left corner and the beige wall beyond falls into shadow to our right.
Titian, Venus with a Mirror, c. 1555, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.34

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building, Main Floor, Galleries 10, 11, 12, 17 through 28
A partially nude woman with pale, peachy skin sits to our left looking into a mirror held up by a nearly nude, winged child to our right in this vertical painting. The woman’s body is angled to our left but she looks across her body to our right. She holds her left hand to her chest, and her right hand grips the fur-lined edge of the scarlet-red, velvet fabric that drapes over that upper arm and around her hips. Her blond hair is coiled up in rows of pearls, and she has dark eyes, a straight nose, and her pale pink lips turn up in a subtle smile. A teardrop pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see, and she wears rings and gold bracelets. The child-like figure to the right stands on a gold-striped cushion facing away from us as he holds up the rectangular, black-framed mirror. He has small silver wings and a sash of golden yellow hangs from one shoulder around the opposite hip. A second child reaches from behind the mirror to hold up a ring of laurel leaves. A forest-green curtain is gathered in the upper left corner and the beige wall beyond falls into shadow to our right.
Titian, Venus with a Mirror, c. 1555, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.34

Overview: 53 paintings by Titian were exhibited in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Titian's birth. Co-organizers were the Commune di Venezia, Assessorato alla Cultura, the Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, the Soprintendenza per i Beni Artistici e Storici de Venezia, and the National Gallery of Art with Galileo Industrie Ottiche, S.p.A., Venice. This was the first comprehensive Titian exhibition since 1935 and the first ever in the United States. A public symposium coordinated by the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts (CASVA), Titian's Venice, was held on January 26. On crowded weekdays and weekends free exhibition passes were distributed as necessary on a first-come, first-served basis.

Organization: David A. Brown, curator of southern Renaissance painting at the National Gallery, was the exhibition curator. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting.

Sponsor: Galileo Industrie Ottiche, S.p.A., supported the exhibition with additional support provided by Silvio Berlusconi Communications, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Assicurazioni Generali, and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Alitalia was the air carrier.

Attendance: 278,152

Catalog: Titian: Prince of Painters. Venice: Marsilio Editori, S.p.A., 1990.

Brochure: Titian: Prince of Painters. Venice: Marsilio Editori, S.p.A., 1990.

Other Venues: Palazzo Ducale, Venice, June 1–October 7, 1990

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