Assumption of Mary (Titian)
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| Assumption Day |
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| Titian , 1516-1518 |
| oil on wood |
| 690 × 360 cm |
| Santa Maria Gloriosa the Frari |
The Assumption of Mary , also known under the Italian name Assunta ("the recorded one"), is a painting by the Italian painter Titian from 1516 to 1518. Today it is in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice . With a height of 6.90 m and a width of 3.60 m it is the largest altar painting in the city and at the same time the largest work ever painted by Titian. As is customary for high altars of this size, it was executed with oil paints on wood.
Image description
Structure of the picture
The composition of the high altar is clearly visible. It is carefully matched to the architecture of the frame. Overall, the oil painting is divided into two or three levels, depending on the type of definition.
The earthbound, massively dense group of apostles forms a rectangle . Their powerful physical representation may echo Michelangelo's works in the Sistine Chapel . Iconographic references to the colourfulness of Raphael can also be seen in the apostles . The Virgin Mary hovers over this rectangle on the semicircle of an angelic cloud. This is complemented by the frame to a ring symbolizing eternity. The drastically shortened God the Father moves in this, so that all figures appear as staggered one on top of the other. This representation seems as if Titian wanted to break through the Venetian traditions with all his might.
But this entire composition is not rigid, but - just like Titian's temperament - is shaped by an urge for movement and union. The closed rows of figures are broken through. A triangle is created through which the apostles, the Virgin Mary and God the Father are connected. It has its baseline between the two red-clad apostles. This can also be seen as a combination of two zigzag movements. The first strong, penetrating movement begins in the back of the apostle, passes through the arm outstretched to the Mother of God and finally flows into God the Father. The second, somewhat weaker counter-movement begins at the bottom left and, after it has united with the first, flows out into Mary.
The entire painting consists of a longing urge to go up. However, it is typical of Titian's realism that Maria does not float up, but is literally carried up. This corresponds to the dogma of the physical acceptance of Mary into heaven. Your upward movement is also illustrated by the arm movement of the gesticulating apostle. In this painting everything strives towards Mary, both the holy men and the jubilant game of the putti find their center in the figure of Mary. Mary has opened her arms in the direction of God the Father, they look at each other, Mary is the resting appearance in the picture. She is the center of this picture. The fact that it does not float upwards or storm upwards creates the impression that it is being carried upwards while it moves normally. Only the Mother of God is endowed with the fullness and identity of an individual in this painting, which is permeated by movement. Thus it represents a contrast to its moving surroundings and above all to the cluster of angels. It makes the antithesis of mass and individual particularly clear. In doing so, Tizian shifted the scope of action into one image level. Here he created a narrow stage on which the figures stand close together. This creates an immediacy of the event that involves the viewer in the action and thus influences the effect of the painting. Picking out a single individual is hardly possible and leads to a state of extreme agitation, from which the Santa Maria Gloriosa stands out in contrast.
Coloristic design
Like most of Titian's pictures, the Assumption of Mary is first and foremost effective through its typical coloring, which conveys movement, character and feeling to the viewer. It is characterized by deep red tones, a warm orange, shining flesh and gold in the background. Titian may have been trained as a mosaic painter by his first teacher Sebastiano Zuccato , so the golden background is often seen as a reference to the tradition of Venetian mosaics.
Due to the colors used, the painting appears in situ as an intense, visionary experience; the coloring of the Mother of God is of particular importance. The blue of the Madonna's cloak, which contrasts with the red-gold colors of the painting, pulls the viewer up and individualizes the Madonna in relation to the surging mass of the rest of the picture. The softer-looking darker sky is also differentiated. "With the cheerful red gold accord, which is close to the present, the color of the distance, the expanse and the longing are combined in strong contrast [...]"
Titian's “tricks”
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When performing the Assumption of Mary, Titian makes use of a number of devices that have never been used before. It is not least because of these that this painting is a masterpiece of occidental art.
In this way, the impression of spatial expanse that dominates the picture is created almost without using actual perspective. Different display perspectives are used in the various sections. Nevertheless, the work of art is held together by the coloring that outshines everything. He also obeys the view of nature. Since the observer, when he is focused on a distant object, perceives everything closer to him as blurred, an apparent distance is created. Otherwise, this would only have been possible through large differences in size between the figures. In fact, however, the apostle in red is only slightly taller than the Mother of God.
While the upper main group collects the light, the apostles stand in a dim light. This makes the Ascension of Mary look even more impressive and the difference between the golden sky and the cloudy earth becomes clear. In addition, the apostles are wide and fuzzy, which reinforces this impression. It is also known that Titian observed the spatial and lighting conditions of the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari very closely. Accordingly, he adapted his painting, which was intended as the high altar of the church from the beginning. The hard even light of the window intensifies the relative darkness in the lower part of the painting and makes the apostles appear superficial. The resulting shadows create liveliness in the church.
By reducing the angel's heads, the color perspective and the veil perspective, Titian succeeded in emphasizing the depth of the sky. His tricks created a new kind of monumental painting (Theodor Hetzer), so that the painting can compete with the huge church space. These tricks, among other things, result in energetic movements, so that a new form of the high altar is created, which was to become the model for the entire Baroque era.
Theological background
- Main article: Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The theological integration of the Assumption of Mary into heaven played a major role in the Franciscan Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari throughout its history. The foundation stone was laid on the feast of the Assumption of Mary (August 15) in 1250.
The feast of the Assumption of Mary was celebrated in the Orient as early as the 5th century. Later it was also used in the Occident, initially under the Byzantine name Koimesis (Dormition , "Dormition of Mary"). The oldest depictions of the Assumption of Mary come from the 7th century. Here Mary is carried up to heaven by angels. This composition became the oriental scheme and was also widely used in the Occident.
Titian depicts the miraculous ascent of Mary while the apostles raise their arms and God bows toward her. He brings the representation of the Assumption of Mary in art to its climax.
Origin and provenance
In 1516 Titian received his first major commission for a sacred painting from the Prior Fra Germano da Casale of the Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. He was supposed to paint a monumental Assumption of Mary. At that time, Titian was the only one of the Venetian painters who could fill such a monumental framework. The rich marble frame was created by the craftsman Lorenzo Bregno, who was instructed by Titian on the precise design. It has been handed down that Tizian analyzed the spatial and lighting conditions in the nave very carefully during the creation process. This prompted him, for example, to depict the figures larger than life. From the received letters between Titian and the Duke of Ferrara it can be concluded that Titian dedicated himself to the work for a very long time. It is known that the Duke complained of waiting times that were too long and that secular works were preferred. The Serenissima Grand Council also expressed its discomfort at the apparent neglect of government mandates in favor of the Assumption of Mary.
The picture was completed in 1518. It was installed in the church on May 19, 1518, exactly two years after the commission was placed. However, in 1816 it was removed and placed in the collections of the Accademia . According to Theodor Hetzer, however, it was exhibited there very unfavorably. During this time it was restored by the painter Lattanzio Querena and did not return to its old place in the Frari Church until 1919. A restoration in 1974 confirmed the excellent condition of the painting; Lattanzio Querena apparently only restored the badly damaged Apostle Peter.
The historian Ridolfini reported that both the brothers of the order and the Guardian of the Franciscans (Germano da Casale) visited Titian several times while he was working inside the monastery. They are all said to have been of the opinion that Titian painted the apostles far too big. It is alleged that due to this criticism, Titian only wanted to hand over his work after a formal apology from the Guardian. The brothers found the painting too novel, so they initially refused to accept it. It was only when an ambassador from Charles V made an offer to Titian to buy the painting that the monks finally agreed to the painting.
Importance of the painting
The reception and significance of the Assumption of the Italian Renaissance can only get to the stamping of Raphael and the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo are measured. Its first constellation on May 19 aroused astonishment and spontaneous dislike, as well as immediate admiration. With this masterpiece, Titian brought the typos of the Assumption of Mary to its climax and had secured his place alongside Raphael and Michelangelo as the most important painter of the time.
meaning
In purely artistic terms, the “great altars” phase in Titian's work began with the depiction of the Assumption of Mary, and the phase of his early work ended. In the creative period that followed, many more depictions of the Madonna were to be found, including the Madonna and Child, St. Francis and Blasius and the founder Alvise Gozzi in Ancona as well as the Pesaro Madonna (also in the Frari Church) are created. Clearly recognizable and read from contemporary sources as well as his own letters is Titian's endeavor to achieve something “great” (Theodor Hetzer). He studied this work very extensively and for a long time, which alone testified to his ambitions through its impressive size for the time.
The depiction of the Assumption of Mary was the first great highlight of Titian's work. Even if he was comparatively inexperienced, he was the city's leading painter even before it was built. He had obtained the sinecure in 1516 and was in possession of a lucrative broker's license at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi . But only with the Assunta did he make his final breakthrough. The time that followed was to be very successful for Titian; he took up contacts with the Princely Houses d'Este and Gonzaga and received papal invitations to Rome , which he refused all. In 1530 he met Emperor Charles V , who was to become his most powerful patron. He was ennobled by this and appointed court painter .
The Assumption of Mary by Titian also represents an important turning point in the history of Christian iconography . The work is often interpreted as the separation of painting from the power of the church. For the first time in art history , a religious painting should not only be edifying, but also pleasing. This created a whole new group of buyers for profane paintings, and even sacred art was now valued from an aesthetic point of view. A new type of lively, moving high altar , which was to characterize the entire Baroque era , was created, and Titian's Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the first high altar of this type. Accordingly, the emergence of a new, independent representation that is not based on icon painting can be assigned to Assumption of the Virgin, which was to find many successors in the following centuries, including Correggio and Peter Paul Rubens .
reception
Accordingly, the Assunta was often mentioned, described and rated. Across the centuries, one can recognize an admiration for the “monumental work” that varied from epoch to epoch. Even the contemporary evaluations were different and are shaped by the conflict between the Venetian school on the one hand and the Florentine / Roman school on the other. Giorgio Vasari , who was generally very critical of Titian's painting, was also not enthusiastic about Assunta. He insulted Titian with the statement that he would stain the works of nature "sometimes with raw, sometimes with soft colors (machiarle con le tinte cruda e dolce)". Macchiare can also be translated as defile, and dolce subtly indicates that only someone like Ludovico Dolce could find Titian's art admirable.
In contrast, there is the aforementioned important Venetian art critic Ludovico Dolce, a supporter of Titian. His admiration for Titian reached its climax in the assessment of the Assunta: “This altarpiece certainly has the grandeur (grandezza) and the terribilità of Michelangelo, the kindness and grace (venustà) of Raphael and the real colors of nature.” ( Ludovico Dolce : Barocchi Tratatti , p. 202).
The Venetian art historian and Baroque painter Carlo Ridolfi also described the painting in great detail and called it one of Titian's main works. So he wrote:
“[…] After a short sigh of death, Mary ascends to heaven to receive the crown of eternal glory as queen. There, in the rays of everlasting light, God awaits the elect on the threshold of eternity, which has the spheres as the floor and the beauty of empyrean as the roof, surrounded by the heavenly spirits and accompanied by the music of blessed singers. Caressed by a gentle breeze, flattered by the sun, with nature as servants and on a shining cloud raised by tender children, Mary follows the blissful paths of heaven; and the jumping is all the more majestic when you meet the Eternal Father held by two angels. "
In the 17th and 18th centuries it became common in Europe for young aristocrats to undertake a Europe-wide educational trip, the so-called Grand Tour . Venice was an important stop on this trip. Many travelers visited the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa die Frari to study the Assunta there. Even in Vasari's time, however, the Assumption of the Virgin was clearly darkened by a thick layer of dirt and soot. Two centuries later, the eminent painter Joshua Reynolds wrote : "It was terribly dark, but well painted" (). The German painter Anselm Feuerbach was also supposed to come to this church on his trip to Italy. He even made a copy of the Assunta, so that it probably had a corresponding effect on him.
literature
- Feghelm-Aebersold, Dagmar: Contemporary history in Tizian's religious history pictures, Hildesheim 1991.
- Hetzer, Theodor : Tizian history of his color, 2nd edition, Frankfurt 1948.
- Kaminski, Marion: Art and Architecture. Venice, Könemann, art travel guide, Cologne 1999.
- Knackfuß, Hermann: Tizian, 2nd edition, Bielefeld / Leipzig 1898.
- Ost, Hans: Tizian studies, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna / Böhlau 1992.
- Pedrocco, Filippo: Titian. The Complete Paintings, London 2001, p. 116.
- Ridolfi, Carlo: Le maraviglie dell'arte, Venezia 1648.
- Schöne, Wolfgang: Rembrandt's man with the gold helmet, yearbook of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen 1972.
- David Jaffé, et al .: Titian . National Gallery, London 2003.
- Burckhardt, Jacob: The Cicerone. A guide to enjoying the works of art in Italy. 9th edition, Leipzig 1904.
- Crowe, JA, Cavalcaselle, GB: Titian. Life and Works , Leipzig 1877.
- Curtius, L .: On Titian's study of antiquity. In: Archives for Art History , 1938.
- Förster, Ernst (ed.): Life of the excellent painters, sculptors and builders, from Cimabue to 1567, described by Giorgio Vasari, painter and builder. Stuttgart / Tübingen 1849.
- Grundmann, Stefan: Titian and his role models. Invention through metamorphosis , dissertation, Cologne / Vienna 1987.
- Hetzer, Theodor: Studies on Titian's Style , in: Yearbook for Art Science , 1923.
- Hetzer, Theodor: Titian. History of its color , Frankfurt 1935.
- Hetzer, Theodor: About Titian's legality , in: Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft , VI (1928).
- Hetzer, Theodor: About the relationship between painting and architecture , in: Essays and lectures , II. Leipzig 1937.
- Heydenreich, Ludwig, Passavant, Günther: Italian Renaissance. The great masters 1500–1540 , Munich 1975.
- Hood, William: Tizian's Narrative Art. Some Religious Paintings for Venetian Patrons 1518-1545 , New York University, Ph. Diss., 1977.
- Hope, Charles: Titian . London 1980.
- Kaminski, Marion: Tiziano Vecellio, called Tizian . Könemann Verlag, Cologne 1998. ISBN 3-8290-0699-3
- Milanesi, Gaetano (ed.): Vasari, Giorgio: Le vite de´ piu eccellenti pittori scultori ed Architetori , Florence 1878.
- Pallucchini, Rodolfo: Da Tiziano a El Greco. Per la storia del Manierismo a Venezia, 1540–1590 . Milan 1981.
- Rosand, David: Painting in Cinquecento Venise: Tizian, Veronese, Tintoretto. Yale University, New Haven, London 1982.
- Variety, Cristoforo: Osservazioni nella pittura, Venezia 1580 , in: Paolo Barocchi: Trattati d'arte del Cinquecento . I, Bari 1960.
- Suida, Wilhelm: Titian . Zurich / Leipzig 1933.
- Tietze-Conrat, Erika: Tizian's workshop in his late years , in: Art Bulletin , 28, 1946.
- Tiziano e venezia. Convegno internazionale di Studi , Venice 1976.
- Wethey, Harold: The paintings of Titian . 3 vols., London 1969.
- Wilde, Johannes: Venetian Art from Bellini to Tizian . 3 vols., London 1969.
- Wölfflin, H. (Ed.): Contributions to the art history of Italy . Berlin / Leipzig 1930.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ian G.Kennedy: Titian. Taschen, Cologne 2006. Page 31
- ↑ Filippo Pedrocco et al .: The greatest artists in Italy. Scala, Florenz 2001, p. 419.
- ↑ a b Theodor Hetzer: Venetian painting. Urachhaus. Stuttgart, 1985. Page 506
- ^ Filippo Pedrocco: Titian. Scala, Florence 1997. page 18.
- ^ Theodor Hetzer: Venetian painting. Urachhaus. Stuttgart, 1985. Page 507
- ^ Theodor Hetzer: Venetian painting. Urachhaus. Stuttgart, 1985. Page 508
- ^ Theodor Hetzer: Venetian painting. Urachhaus. Stuttgart, 1985. Page 509
- ↑ James H. Beck: Painting of the Italian Renaissance. Koenemann. Florence. 1999. page 383
- ↑ Martina Mian et al .: The Churches of Venice , Chorus. Venice, 2002. page 49
- ↑ Martina Mian et al .: The Churches of Venice. Chorus. Venice, 2002. page 50
- ^ W. Schlink: Tizian. Life and Work, CH Beck, Munich, 2008. p. 31
- ^ Basilica dei Frari: Buon cumpleanno Assunta!
- ^ Jörg Traeger : Renaissance and Religion. The Art of Faith in the Age of Raphael, CH Beck, Munich, 1997 page 59
- ↑ Klaus Irle: The glory of the bees. The principle of imitation in Italian painting from Raphael to Rubens . Waxmann, 1997, p. 72.
- ^ Claude Phillips: The Earlier Work of Titian . Xlibris Corporation, 2008, 76