Titian - Exploring the Technique of a Venetian Master
Self-Portrait c. 1567, 86 cm × 65 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid
A couple of weeks ago I gave a brief talk on my favourite artist Titian at Willoughby Arts Centre. I wanted to share my thoughts about why I find Titian so compelling so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to start blogging.
Titian was born in the late 15th century in the Republic of Venice. He lived and worked in the city of Venice, becoming very famous in his day for his exquisite portraits of powerful elites, as well as his remarkable use of colour and handling of paint. As much as I love Titian’s portraits, I find his mythological compositions to be out of the world - especially the poesie series. I’ll come back to those later. Meanwhile, I think it’s worthwhile giving an overview of how Titian and his contemporaries would have painted.
It is hard to conclusively state how Titian painted, because the research I have read on Titian’s paintings indicate that almost every work is created slightly differently. However we can still get a general idea of the common practices involved in his painting and this image below gives us a good indication of the four main stages of Venetian painting technique.
Image taken from The World of Titian, Jay Williams, Time-Life Books 1968.
1 Underdrawing
Before we discuss the initial brushstrokes, we need to talk about the ground, which is the term used to describe the colour and tone of the first coat of paint. In this illustration we see a mid-tone brown ground. It was common practice for artists to work on some sort of coloured ground. There are plenty of variations but commonly it would be a reddish brown or grey colour. Titian used coloured grounds but there are also instances where he paints directly on the white gesso. The purpose of a ground is to provide a tonal starting point – it allows the artist to develop both light and dark at the same time. On this ground, an underdrawing is done. This essentially is the composition of the painting. In some cases preparatory drawings or cartoons are transferred to the canvas in a variety of techniques, otherwise the artist begins to directly paint out the composition. Titian used thinned down paint for this stage, often working in long fluid strokes.
2 Underpainting
This stage involves the development of light and dark – tone. In this illustration it is done monochromatically. I’m also reluctant to say how often Titian developed a monochromatic tonal underpainting before applying colour. It seems like he started using some colour at the early stages to indicate the finished tone. But it certainly seems to be limited, and colours tend to be largely earth colours. Which is understandable as these pigments tend to dry more quickly thus facilitating a quick underpainting stage as well as being suitable for the fat-over-lean principle.
3 Colourblocking
This stage is what I call colour blocking – this is establishing the general area of colour. Colour doesn’t necessarily need to be completely resolved at this point, it is just laying the foundations.
4 Refinement
This final stage is the artist refines and develops colour until he is satisfied with the result. This last stage is where I believe Titian spent a great deal of time rendering his work and tweaking his compositions. Whilst it is impossible to truly uncover the process that Titian followed, some things are clear- that he painted in layers and that richer, saturated colours where developed in the later stages of painting.
Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo, 1510, 81.2 × 66.3 cm, National Gallery London
Let’s look at the first Titian painting titled A Man With a Quilted Sleeve. This beautiful portrait was completed by Titian in his 20s. There’s an elegance to the posture due to the pyramid composition of the painting but also a certain superciliousness to the man’s expression. Titian’s composing of the portrait leads our attention towards the eye of the man, but the real hero of this painting is the sleeve. It is painted exquisitely and with tender touch. I have attempted to copy this sleeve on one occasion, and I found it particularly challenging, not so much for the complexity of the shape but for the subtly of the tone and colour. Paint samples taken from the sleeve have been analysed by conservation scientists at the National Gallery, London, their analysis revealed that the sleeve was painted in several layers, the first layer being carmine lake, madder lake and white. Following this were multiple layers of blue and purple, containing ultramarine and red lake. These blue and purple layers were painted translucently which allows light to penetrate through the paint like a filter. This approach of painting allows colours to become saturated, it also allows the artist to manipulate the paint layer with great control resulting in delicate, refined brushwork.
This approach to painting is called glazing and Titian was known to have used glazing extensively in his paintings. It’s an incredibly interesting and versatile way to paint which is explained in this short video from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/video/dvd-glazes-titian.html.
There’s a quote of Titian boasting using 30-40 glazes in his work, however I cannot find the direct source, so if anyone out there knows it, please let me know.
Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-23, 176.5 × 191 cm, National Gallery London
It’s always quite humbling to put an age next to Old Master work – such skill and ability at an early age. The next painting to look at is Bacchus & Ariadne 1522–23, this work was created by Titian in his 30s. This painting is on a whole other level! It was originally commissioned for Raphael by the Duke of Ferrera but when Raphael died, the commission went to Titian instead.
In this painting we have a scene involving the Princess Ariadne who has been abandoned on an island by Theseus, who is absconding on the ship on the horizon. Bacchus sees Ariadne and leaping from his chariot immediately falls in love with her. In the top left of the painting is the Corona Borealis, a constellation symbolic of Ariadne’s crown. To the right of the lovers is a dense scene populated by the revellers of the island – a true bacchanal.
There’s a lot going on but the composition is grounded. Titian split the painting into diagonals. One side is dominated by ultramarine blue, the other by darker colours and a denser pattern of human form. To balance the blue of the top half, Titian used the same ultramarine to paint the woman’s drapery. There’s this beautiful rhythm and movement in the entire painting, everything has been considered and painted with attention. It’s a perfect example of Titian’s hand and his search of poetry in form and colour.
Death of Actaeon, c.1559-1575, 178.8 × 197.8 cm, National Gallery London
The last painting I want to discuss is the Death of Actaeon c. 1559–1575 . This painting was done in the later stages of Titian’s life. It is unknown if the painting is finished as it was found unsigned in the artist’s studio upon his death. It is a perfect example of the artist’s late work which is far more expressive and painterly than his early and mature painting. It is an interesting work to analyse because it shows an artist experimenting and searching for expression through the paint.
The palette is moody and less resplendent than Bacchus & Ariadne, which is not to say that it isn’t colourful – it just isn’t as conspicuously so. These muted, earthy colours reflect the tragedy unfolding. Diana, goddess of the hunt pursues the hunter Actaeon after he has caught a glimpse of the goddess bathing. As punishment Diana transforms Actaeon into a stag, and the hunter’s dogs maul him to death.
I love the composition here – our eye travels up Diana’s leg to her breast, then her arms pulling back the bow string direct our attention towards the mauling of Actaeon. Compositional decisions such as these seem simple and obvious, but it is quite a skill to compose a complex image and to direct the viewer’s attention. I find composition to be a very difficult aspect of painting practice.
Looking closely, we can see that Titian’s painting technique has evolved. In this detail of Diana’s upper body the artist has used fluid brushstrokes to draw the goddess’ hand and profile. I have the feeling that this is the original underdrawing which Titian has kept visible. Also, the paint looks more translucent which allows underlying layers and any underdrawing to remain visible. Another interesting point relates to the edge of the foliage. We see in Titian’s earlier work that form is clearly distinguished by edges, in this instance the edges are blurred and indistinguishable. I’m making these observations to suggest that Titian at this point was painting in a more intuitive and expressive way. He appears to be interested in the possibilities of paint, in how its texture and application can be used to capture surfaces and feelings.
Looking at Diana’s drapery and the stream, we see two contrasting applications of paint. Diana’s drapery is translucent and blurred, we can distinguish multiple fluid brushstrokes and several colours which suggest the shimmering of light and movement. The surface of the water is portrayed by impasto white paint which Titian has dragged across the linen surface resulting in broken brushstrokes. The effect suggests the sensation of light reflecting upon the water - a moving, amorphous surface. These examples indicate that the artist was interested in evoking physical sensations and emotions through paint rather than illustrating subjects in a literal fashion.
There’s much I think about when looking at Titian’s paintings. Of course, I love this artist from a technical perspective. I find his use of colour and dynamic brushwork to be incredibly inspiring as well as downright impressive. But it’s also the emotional complexity that Titian conjures up – be it the tragedy that unfolds in Death of Actaeon, or the sensuality of nude flesh on fur in Venus with a Mirror 1555. He appeals to our desires and fears, and that is what makes his beautiful paintings so timeless and enduring.
