Titian, Sacred and Prophane Love
ca 1514Titian, Sacred and Prophane Love
ca 1514Paintings sorted by   Historical period  |   Painter  |  Subject matter  |  Pigments used
Overview
Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 118 × 279 cm
Art period: High Renaissance
Galleria Borghese
One of the greatest masterpieces of Renaissance painting. Several possible interpretations have been suggested but none of them is fully conclusive as there are no contemporary texts giving information on Titian’s intentions (1).
(1) Giles Robertson, Honour, love and truth, an alternative reading of Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, Renaissance Studies
Volume 2, Issue 2, pages 268–279, October 1988.
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
The following pigment analysis is based on the work of R. Klockenkamper, A. von Bohlen, and L. Moens (1). Minute samples of paint were taken from the spots shown below and the pigments were subsequently identified using the Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TXRF)
1 White sky: lead white with small amounts of azurite.
2 Yellowish sky: lead white and yellow ochre with small amounts of azurite.
3 Orange flowers: lead white and lead-tin yellow.
4 Flesh paint: lead white and vermilion mixed in a ratio of 13 : 1.
5 Dark brownish foliage: originally a green pigment containing copper (possibly malachite or verdigris) degraded with time giving the brown colour visible today.
References
(1) R. Klockenkamper, A. von Bohlen and L. Moens, Analysis of Pigments and Inks on Oil Paintings and Historical Manuscripts Using Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, X-RAY SPECTROMETRY, X-Ray Spectrom. 29, 119–129 (2000).
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
See the collection of online and offline resources such as books, articles, videos, and websites on Titian in the section ‘Resources on Painters‘
PowerPoint Presentations
Painter in Context: Titian
A richly illustrated presentation on the Venetian Renaissance painter Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)Â containing information on painting technique, pigments employed, and important written and online resources.
Number of slides: 23
Formats included in the download: PowerPoint Screen Presentation (ppsx) and pdf
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Brian D. Steele, Water and Fire: Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love and Ancient Marriage Customs, Source: Notes in the History of Art, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer 1996), pp. 22-29.
(2) Rona Goffen, Titian’s Women, Yale University Press, 1997
(3) Julianne C. Kaercher, Female Duality and Petrarchan Ideals in Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, Master Thesis.
(4) Giles Robertson, Honour, love and truth, an alternative reading of Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, Renaissance Studies
Volume 2, Issue 2, pages 268–279, October 1988.
(5) Stefano Zuffi, Titian: Sacred and Profane Love – Art Mysteries, Ore Cultura, 2013
Websites
Paul Doughton, Titian’s The Sacred and Profane Love: A visual analysis, Blog article, Sunday, 13 March 2011.
