In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is the founder and first sovereign ruler of modern Corinth (which was then Ephyra). After numerous attempts to trick the gods and cheat death, the gods finally catch up to him and punish him. Sisyphus’ sentence is to roll…
In this painting, we see Venus--the Roman goddess of love and affection--depicted with blonde hair, draped with a fine and elegant fabric from the waist down. In her lap lies Adonis, an adept hunter in Greco-Roman mythology who dons bright and…
Titian paints his image with vibrant warm colors and darker cool colors. The one exception to this is the color of the sky in some areas and a woman's dress, which are both a light shade of blue. The painting has a vast amount of contrast across the…
The scene of Venus and Adonis comes from the literary work The Metamorphosis by Ovid. After being mistakenly hit by an arrow from Cupid, Venus, the goddess of love, became the lover of the mortal young hunter Adonis. Venus had a foreboding that…
Titian created Saint Margaret and the Dragon in ca. 1565 and it is currently in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Philip II owned two paintings of this saint: one remains of the Escorial, which came in 1574, and the version in the Museo del Prado…
Titian’s Christ Carrying the Cross was not a one off subject matter or commission. Several decades prior Titian had created a version of Christ Carrying the Cross depicting Christ tied at the neck by the rope of an executioner [1]. This work was…
Titian, or Tiziano Vecellio, first gained popularity for his religious pieces and for applying the colorito technique and providing innovative twists to classical interpretations of biblical stories, such as in The Virgin and Child with Saints…
Titian was commissioned to create this painting for Alfonso d’Este. This painting demonstrates the joy brought to the people from wine. Clearly, a wine glass is being held in the center of the painting to demonstrate the immense focus Titian places…
In this painting, we see Saint Margaret, an Antioch virgin, emerging from a dragon’s severed body with a cross in hand. Titian makes Margaret the central figure in the painting in multiple ways. First, he makes her skin and clothing have much…
Commissioned by Mary of Hungary for the Binche Palace and painted by Titian c. 1548, Sisyphus documents the story of the King of Corinth, Sisyphus. Sisyphus was condemned to push a boulder to the top of a hill in the Underworld repeatedly, for the…