Sacred and Profane Love

This early oil painting by Titian features a pastoral setting with a lake and luscious green rolling hills. To one side we can see a church with a grand steeple while the other side is flanked by a castle-like fortification overlooking a village. In the foreground we see two women, one of whom wears a typical Venetian wedding dress while the other is draped with a sheet but largely appears in the nude [1]. The former of these two figures is proper yet composed, the depiction of “profane love.” The latter––”sacred love”–– on the other hand has one arm raised and is contorted, showing her freedom and earthiness. They sit on a sarcophagus that is ornately decorated and that has been converted into a water basin. A depiction of baby Cupid plays with the water between them.

Titian employs soft hues to frame his delicate work involving the Venetian standard of beauty: a fair complexion with curly, red hair. It promotes peace and calmness in the audience. But while the majority of the piece uses these tones, they are noticeably interrupted by the harsh whites and boisterous reds of the fabrics, symbols of purity and passion. 

Thus, it naturally follows that this painting is a celebration of a marriage––namely one that is wholesome and pious yet powerful and strong. The coat of arms highlighted on the sarcophagus reveals that it was commissioned by Niccolò Aurelio, a powerful and elite statesman of Venice, for his bride Laura Bagarotto [2]. Bagarotto was the daughter and former wife of Paduan politicians who were executed for treason by the Republic [3]. Thus this painting, which was completed by one of the most prominent artists in Venice capitalizes on symbols typical of it, reaffirming the loyalty of the new couple to the city and projecting their power onto it. 

[1] David Jaffé, Titian (London: The National Gallery Company/Yale University Press, 2003), 94.

[2] “Sacred and Profane Love,” Galleria Borghese, accessed November 16, 2020, https://borghese.gallery/collection/paintings/sacred-and-profane-love.html.

[3] “Niccolo Aurelio,” Boston College, Mapping Titian, accessed November 16, 2020, http://www.mappingtitian.org/glossaries/22.

Boston College. “Niccolo Aurelio.” Mapping Titian. Accessed November 16, 2020. http://www.mappingtitian.org/glossaries/22.

Galleria Borghese. “Sacred and Profane Love.” Accessed November 16, 2020. https://borghese.gallery/collection/paintings/sacred-and-profane-love.html.