Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos
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In this painting, we see Saint John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos reacting to the vision and voice of God. Titian highlights the heavenly calling in multiple ways. First, with regards to the composition of the image, although Saint John is the biggest and the central figure in the painting, his stance and gaze draws the viewer’s attention to the Lord up above. Second, the angels are also pointing towards God, making all of the figures give the audience a path for their eyes to move. Thirdly, the lighting around God is very bright and heavenly, which contrasts with the darker tones of the sky and his robe, which makes it easier for the audience to focus on the lord. In addition, the clouds around God are much more textured than the other clouds, which creates yet another contrast that places the viewer’s eye on Him. Finally, God’s gaze is looking down towards the viewer and Saint John, which creates a connection between the audience and God.
Now, the question becomes why would Titian want to focus on God? This painting was the central element of the the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista, one of the four original scuole grandi, which was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, explaining why this painting was created. This painting was featured in a room a prestigious relic, a fragment of the True Cross, which could perform miracles [1]. Thus, Titian would want to focus on God’s role in Saint John’s vision because the whole room was centered around God’s miracles. In addition, this painting was created right around the time of the Council of Trent, which embodied the Counter-Reformation, as the religious figures in power attempted to grapple with the Protestant Reformation and the Renaissance and its effects on religion. One of the key issues the Council was struggling with was the Renaissance idea of individual human connection with religion; Titian, by focusing on God as it looks down, creates a connection between God and the viewer, making the viewing experience more personal and less about a far-removed Biblical scene.
In addition, the placement of the painting influenced Titian’s painting style. This was a ceiling painting, which not only further draws the viewer’s attention to God but also creates distance between the viewer and the painting. This distance freed Titian to create the painting with broad, loose brushstrokes, giving him more freedom to manipulate the painting and its notions of space [2]. In addition, because of the ceiling placement of the painting, Titian also employs a dal sotto in su perspective, foreshortening John’s figure. This perspective combined with his contrapposto stance and the composition of the image, created drama and tension, making the viewer focus even more on this central panel [3]. In addition, by thinking about the viewer’s experience, Titian demonstrates once again the idea that the viewer’s perspective is important in the consumption of religious artwork.
[1] Peter Humfrey, “Titian, Italian 16th Century/Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos/c. 1553/1555,” in Italian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century, NGA Online Editions, https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/43725 (accessed October 27, 2020).
[2] Robert Echols, "Titian's Venetian Soffitti: Sources and Transformations," in Studies in the History of Art 45 (Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1993), 28-49.
[3] Loren Partridge, Art of Renaissance Venice, 1400 1600 (United States: University of California Press, 2015), 171.
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Source
Humfrey, Peter. “Titian, Italian 16th Century/Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos/c. 1553/1555,” Italian Paintings of the Sixteenth Century. NGA Online Editions. https://purl.org/nga/collection/artobject/43725 (accessed October 27, 2020).
Partridge, Loren. Art of Renaissance Venice, 1400 1600. United States: University of California Press, 2015. 171.
Echols, Robert. "Titian's Venetian Soffitti: Sources and Transformations." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 28-49. Accessed October 27, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42621876.
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