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Titian
If a
person could study you and learn about you, then paint
your picture; what do you think the painting would look
like? Titian was a man who had the gift of catching
people’s view of the world and portraying it on canvas in
a manner that made the world want to see more.
When
Titian was born, he lived in Pieve di Cadore which is a
place north of Venice (Italy). His real name was Tiziano
Vecillio.
For a
mountain boy born in the late 1400’s, he made quite a name
for himself. He worked with many different styles of
painting. In his lifetime, Titian painted many famous
people including an Emperor and a Pope.
The
era in which he lived was known for its religious art and
Titian did many paintings portraying Christian themes.
However, he had his own way of visualizing the main
components of the paintings. For example, when he painted
the Virgin Mary, he did not place her in the center of the
paintings as artists before him had done. Instead, he
placed her off to the side with columns behind her.
 In
some cases, patrons would pay to have their family
portrayed in a religious painting such as in the Votive
Portrait of the Vendramin Family (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/8601/Titian5.html).
The dog in the picture adds a touch of humanity.
Throughout his life, Titian experiment with colors.
Sometimes they seemed to reflect his mood. For example,
Titian was known for painting with vibrant colors, yet
after the death of his wife, he went through a period of
painting with pale colors and subdued yellows. His
experimentation with colors and genres never ceased.
At
another point in his life, the artist painted a series of
mythological paintings. His works kept evolving. He
painted with thick colors so his paintings would best be
seen at a distance. Although he was famous, and had plenty
of work even when he was old, the fame never went to his
head. In fact, he often claimed to be a pauper (which was
not true with the commissions he made).
How
do we teach the children about Titian, the man who lived
so long ago? Here are some ideas:
-
Do
a painting on paper with regular paint (like
watercolors). Using the same type of paper, do a
painting with thick paint. Now look at the picture up
close. Which looks better and why? Now check them out
from a distance, which one looks better now?
-
Do
a lesson on emotions. Talk about what colors you would
use when you were in different moods. What would you use
if you were sad? Happy? Excited? Surprised? There is no
right answer. Each child might have their own ideas.
-
Have the children draw each other then have each child
draw themselves. Do both pictures portray the same idea?
Often the way we see ourselves is different from that
way others see us.
-
Titian painted mythological paintings. What are the
children’s favorite stories? Have them draw a painting
from their favorite stories?
-
As
the children what kind of picture they would want with
them forever. Discuss why (their own Pieta
without actually dealing with the topic of death.
 The
last painting Titan worked on was the
Pieta (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/T/titian/titian_pieta.jpg.html),
which was meant for his own burial place. He never
finished it, and an artist name Palma Giovane carried it
to completion.
Sources
for this article:
Votive Portrait of the Vendramin Family:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/8601/Titian5.html
Pieta:
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/T/titian/titian_pieta.jpg.html
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/titian/titian_bio.htm
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/titian/
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/T/titian.html
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