Sacred and Profane Love
Dublin Core
Title
Description
Titian painted Sacred and Profane Love in circa 1515. It was commissioned by Niccoló Aurelio in 1514, a superb chancellor in Venice's city government, on behalf of his matrimony to Laura Bagarotto of Padua [1]. In 1613, this composition was described as "beauty adorned and beauty unadorned," and both figures recommend kinship because they are the identical figure painted twice. If these depicted goddesses actually expressed the idea of Sacred and Profane Love, the left Venus is profane love, and the nude Venus is sacred love.
Titian creates two identical Venuses with a Cupid sitting on a sarcophagus shaped fountain in a forest landscape. The sister Venuses, each dominating one half of the painting, express two levels of love, the human and the divine. Each of the elements specifying them contributes to the articulation of this hierarchical relationship [2]. Venus on the left is dressed in a beautiful, baby blue gown with a pink sleeve on her right arm. She is richly dressed, and her gown is commonly recognized as bridal clothing, although in the past, they were said to be typical of a courtesan [3]. She is blonde, sitting on the fountain very peacefully and staring right at the viewer. Venus on the right is nude with a red drape hanging off her shoulder, exposing her body with a white garment across her lap. She is also blonde, holding her weight up with her right hand, and her feet are crossed. She is staring at the other Venus with a pleasant expression on her face. The protagonists are separated by Cupid staring into the fountain and a rose bush in front of the fountain. The center of the painting, containing the two Venuses and Cupid, is more illuminated than the rest of the landscape. The separation of the two Venuses also shows a lighting difference in the background. The background's left side is a cityscape, dark, and crowded; The right side is a pastoral landscape, bright and spacious [4]. The sky is very cloudy, with different shades of blues, and you can see the array of oranges and yellows, depicting a sunset.
On this sarcophagus shaped fountain, you can see how the objects carved into the fountain appear to be popping out, expressing a 3D effect. It was noticed a long time ago that Venetian Niccoló Aurelio's coat of arms appears on this sarcophagus, hinting at the commission [5].
[1] Barolsky, Paul. "Sacred and Profane Love." Source: Notes in the History of Art 17, no. 3 (1998): 25.
[2] “Sacred and Profane Love, 1514 by Titian,” Assessed November 16, 2020. https://www.titian.org/sacred-and-profane-love.jsp.
[3] “Sacred and Profane Love by Titian,” Assessed November 16, 2020. https://borghese.gallery/collection/paintings/sacred-and-profane-love.html.
[4] Cantelupe, Eugene B. "Titian's Sacred and Profane Love Re-examined." The Art Bulletin 46, no. 2 (1964): 219.
[5] Goffen, Rona. "Titian's Sacred and Profane Love: Individuality and Sexuality in a Renaissance Marriage Picture." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 124.
Creator
Source
Cantelupe, Eugene B. "Titian's Sacred and Profane Love Re-examined." The Art Bulletin 46, no. 2 (1964): 219.
Goffen, Rona. "Titian's Sacred and Profane Love: Individuality and Sexuality in a Renaissance Marriage Picture." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 124.
“Sacred and Profane Love, 1514 by Titian,” Assessed November 16, 2020. https://www.titian.org/sacred-and-profane-love.jsp.
“Sacred and Profane Love by Titian,” Assessed November 16, 2020. https://borghese.gallery/collection/paintings/sacred-and-profane-love.html.
Titian. c. 1515. Sacred and Profane Love. painting. Place: Galleria Borghese. https://library.artstor.org/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_10310195612.
Publisher
Image Rights: Titian. c. 1515. Sacred and Profane Love. painting. Place: Galleria Borghese. https://library.artstor.org/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_10310195612.
Date
Contributor
Rights
Image and original data provided by SCALA, Florence/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.
Image Rights: Titian. c. 1515. Sacred and Profane Love. painting. Place: Galleria Borghese. https://library.artstor.org/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_10310195612.