Research Paper on the Titian’s Mythological Paintings for Philip II

The famous Venetian artist, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) born ca. 1488 and died 1576, was the first artist to painted in oils and fully exploited the medium’s potential for richness in color through his expressive thick paint application with raised brushstrokes known as impasti. This new technique freed the brush from the task of accurately rendering surfaces, volumes, and details and as a result Titian was able to convey light through color and breath life, movement and strong emotion into his characters portrayed on the canvas. With Titian’s most important and influential friends, Aretino and Lodovico Dolce, whose letters and writings praised the extraordinary work of Titian and addressed the powerful throughout Europe, Titian rapidly became the principal painter to the Imperial Court, (independent from the controls and conditioning of the Church), which gave him immense privileges, honors, and even titles such as principal painter to Charles V and Philip II, who were the two greatest collectors and admirers of Titian.

The art of Titian became a fundamental inspiration for three of the famous painters of the 17^th century, Rubens, Van Dyck and Velazquez as all three painters developed a fluency of brushwork and a richness of color in their palette.  Furthermore, Titian provide powerful compositional models (over six hundred) for almost every type of commission from portraits to altarpieces from ceiling painting to erotic mythological narratives placed in landscapes, most notably, the six enigmatic canvases, the Poesie, painted between 1551 to 1562 for Philip II.

Renaissance Man by Adam Gopnik

Without a doubt, Leonardo had the inability to finish a piece of work; however, has anyone considered that because of his compulsive obsession with the universal system of proportion and seeing abstract form in everything that Leonardo could have had an attention deficit disorder.

Most importantly, it was through his keen observation that Leonardo was known as a genius well before his time and legendary through his remaining perceptive notebooks and the famous half-smile known all over the world.  One wonders, what other kinds of information that Leonardo had written in his misplaced notebooks.   In addition, Leonardo knew how to handle the most intolerable people in power and with wealth through his use of riddles, fables and theatre productions, therefore, helping him to utilize his time in further observation and study.

As for his preference for women or men, who cares, as it is hard to believe that he had the time to invest in relationships considering his upbringing with two mothers and a father that sent off to a studio to learn more about art?  What is noteworthy is the work that Leonardo accomplished in his lifetime in so many different fields, such as, the military, engineering, art, architecture and a romanticized side to historical Leonardo.

Art Theories of Leonardo and Michelangelo

Although, Leonardo was known for his engineering inventions and Michelangelo for sculpture, it is with certainty, that Leonardo and Michelangelo were the famous painters of the Italian Renaissance.  It is interesting to discover that both artists, Leonardo and Michelangelo, wrote down their art theories, their views and beliefs about nature and their methods in how they created their paintings.

 

Leonardo had a profound belief in the value of experiment and of direct observation that he saw in the human body, in plants and in the formation of rocks.  Furthermore, Leonard understood painting as a science because of its foundation on mathematical perspectives and the study of nature. While on the other hand, Michelangelo believed that profound beauty was found in the human body, the visible universe present in nature and in spiritual and the divine.  According to Michelangelo, the eye was the most important vehicle to motivate the artist to create and for the viewer to contemplate the divine beauty that was inspired from God.  In contrast, Leonardo was deeply opposed to speculation not based on experiment and believed that painting depended on th

e eye, which could be easily deceived, and through actual measurements and principles of geometry ensured the eye’s judgments.

As for their painting methods, Michelangelo relied on his imagination and individual inspiration rather than on obedience to any fixed standards of beauty.  Oppositely, Leonardo believe that what he created must always have the exact foundation and justification in nature, and therefore fill his mind with images based on the exact knowledge of nature so that the imagination would have a solid foundation for its inventions.

As time progressed, the artists painting methods changed as well.  Michelangelo interest became more focused on the inward mental image that transcends everything which can be found in the visible world.  Too, Michelangelo believed that love of physical beauty lost its strength and true love that of spiritual beauty gave perfect satisfaction as it does not fade with time and elevates the mind to the contemplation of the divine.  Whereas, Leonardo was always interested in the contrast of the beautiful and ugly found the in the characteristics of the individual, a fixed rule of proportion that should be applied to all limbs of the body, and the language of gestures and facial expressions to convey the emotions and ideas in a person’s mind.

In conclusion, both, Leonardo and Michelangelo, offered valuable instruction to artists that followed in the master’s footsteps by combining the inspiration from nature and the divine with the exactness of proportions, gestures and expressions that is found in all life forms.