Saint Christopher
Dublin Core
Title
Description
This painting is extraordinary because it survived two extreme fires of the Ducal Palace in 1574 and 1577. Titian created it in 1524, and it is currently in the Ducal Palace, over the staircase leading to the Doge's private apartment. There are few frescos in Venice, this one included, due to the city being built on water, the humidity, and water can seep through the walls, making the plaster peel off the painting. The Saint Christopher painting was Titian's first performance as a frescante since the completion, twelve years previously, of the series at the Scuola del Santo of Paula. This painting has been compared to Titian's St. Roch, implicitly suggesting a contemporaneous date and highlighting the possibility that it reflects a lost painting by the master [1].
In this painting, Saint Christopher appears as a very handsome man with well-formed muscles and strong defined legs. This detail is an excellent way of representing him because he is the patron saint of travelers. His strong body shows us that he is a strong man and capable of doing strong things, such as carrying the Light of the World across this river. Instead of being described as a man of fearsome countenance, he is portrayed as this strong bearded man with tousled hair and fine muscles [2]. Christ is displayed as an adorable baby with chubby legs, and he seems to be enjoying the ride with Saint Christopher. Saint Christopher is dressed in a white, baby blue, and red gown carrying a large branch with leaves on top. He is looking at the baby Jesus, who is wearing a white gown, looking down at the water. The sky is very blue with some clouds, viewing the Bell Tower in the Piazza San Marco and the mountain range surrounding Venice. You can see the beginnings of the mountain range in Venice on a sunny day. This painting is broad and stable in execution, brilliant, and rich in color for a fresco and relatively preserved [3]. At the top of the masterpiece are archways that cover the top of Saint Christopher's branch. Pordenone has created multiple versions, one in the British Museum and one on the wall of a house near the Town Hall of Udine. None of these can beat the original that presents natural beauty and resistless energy.
[1] Wivel, Matthias. "Titian's "St Roch"." Print Quarterly 29, no. 2 (2012)
[2] “Saint Christopher.” Saint Christopher by Titian, 2018. http://www.titian.net/saint-christopher/.
[3] Phillips, Claude. The earlier work of Titian. No. 34. Seeley, 1897.
In this painting, Saint Christopher appears as a very handsome man with well-formed muscles and strong defined legs. This detail is an excellent way of representing him because he is the patron saint of travelers. His strong body shows us that he is a strong man and capable of doing strong things, such as carrying the Light of the World across this river. Instead of being described as a man of fearsome countenance, he is portrayed as this strong bearded man with tousled hair and fine muscles [2]. Christ is displayed as an adorable baby with chubby legs, and he seems to be enjoying the ride with Saint Christopher. Saint Christopher is dressed in a white, baby blue, and red gown carrying a large branch with leaves on top. He is looking at the baby Jesus, who is wearing a white gown, looking down at the water. The sky is very blue with some clouds, viewing the Bell Tower in the Piazza San Marco and the mountain range surrounding Venice. You can see the beginnings of the mountain range in Venice on a sunny day. This painting is broad and stable in execution, brilliant, and rich in color for a fresco and relatively preserved [3]. At the top of the masterpiece are archways that cover the top of Saint Christopher's branch. Pordenone has created multiple versions, one in the British Museum and one on the wall of a house near the Town Hall of Udine. None of these can beat the original that presents natural beauty and resistless energy.
[1] Wivel, Matthias. "Titian's "St Roch"." Print Quarterly 29, no. 2 (2012)
[2] “Saint Christopher.” Saint Christopher by Titian, 2018. http://www.titian.net/saint-christopher/.
[3] Phillips, Claude. The earlier work of Titian. No. 34. Seeley, 1897.
Creator
Titian
Source
After Titian. early 16th century. St. Christopher with the infant Christ. drawing. Place: British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AGERNSHEIMIG_10313152801.
Phillips, Claude. The earlier work of Titian. No. 34. Seeley, 1897.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K7YVAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=saint+christopher+titian&ots=RFw7aEGzpF&sig=oQhswBjZf7pFtzGfClyvDp_y_PI#v=onepage&q=saint%20christopher%20titian&f=false
Wivel, Matthias. "Titian's "St Roch"." Print Quarterly 29, no. 2 (2012): 131-41. Accessed October 27, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43826208.
Krén, Emil, and Daniel Marx. “St Christopher.” St Christopher by TIZIANO Vecellio, 1996. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tiziano/02_1520s/4christo.html.
“Saint Christopher.” Saint Christopher by Titian, 2018. http://www.titian.net/saint-christopher/.Phillips, Claude. The earlier work of Titian. No. 34. Seeley, 1897.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K7YVAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=saint+christopher+titian&ots=RFw7aEGzpF&sig=oQhswBjZf7pFtzGfClyvDp_y_PI#v=onepage&q=saint%20christopher%20titian&f=false
Wivel, Matthias. "Titian's "St Roch"." Print Quarterly 29, no. 2 (2012): 131-41. Accessed October 27, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43826208.
Publisher
Commissioned by the Holy Church
Krén, Emil, and Daniel Marx. “St Christopher.” St Christopher by TIZIANO Vecellio, 1996. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tiziano/02_1520s/4christo.html.
Image Rights: After Titian. early 16th century. St. Christopher with the infant Christ. drawing. Place: British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AGERNSHEIMIG_10313152801.
Krén, Emil, and Daniel Marx. “St Christopher.” St Christopher by TIZIANO Vecellio, 1996. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tiziano/02_1520s/4christo.html.
Image Rights: After Titian. early 16th century. St. Christopher with the infant Christ. drawing. Place: British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AGERNSHEIMIG_10313152801.
Date
1524
Contributor
Seamus Harding
Rights
Image and original data provided by the Gernsheim Photographic Corpus of Drawings from photo campaigns that began in 1939.
Krén, Emil, and Daniel Marx. “St Christopher.” St Christopher by TIZIANO Vecellio, 1996. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tiziano/02_1520s/4christo.html.
Image Rights: After Titian. early 16th century. St. Christopher with the infant Christ. drawing. Place: British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AGERNSHEIMIG_10313152801.
Krén, Emil, and Daniel Marx. “St Christopher.” St Christopher by TIZIANO Vecellio, 1996. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tiziano/02_1520s/4christo.html.
Image Rights: After Titian. early 16th century. St. Christopher with the infant Christ. drawing. Place: British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AGERNSHEIMIG_10313152801.
Format
Fresco; 310 x 186 cm
Type
painting (fresco)
Coverage
Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy
Files
Citation
Titian, “Saint Christopher,” ARTHIST 89S - Visual Culture of Venice - Fall 2020, accessed October 22, 2026, https://venice.dahvc.org/fall-2020/items/show/135.