Titian love heavenly. The story of one masterpiece: “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” by Titian


Titian immortalized his name by creating beautiful canvases, embodying scenes from the Bible and mythology. In addition, he was an outstanding portrait painter. He painted more than a hundred canvases, many of which depict outstanding personalities of his time, and Titian lived in the first half of the 16th century in Venice. By the age of thirty he was recognized as the best artist in Venice. Kings and popes ordered their portraits from him, not to mention smaller nobles. And among all his creative heritage, the painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” occupies a special place.

There is reason to believe that the painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” was painted by order of Niccolò Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. Niccolo got married and the painting was given the role of a wedding gift. It is worth noting that the painting did not immediately have its modern name - it was named that way no earlier than two centuries after the date of creation - 1514. In 1608, the painting was bought by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a famous philanthropist and art collector. In his catalog, the painting was listed under several names: “Beauty, embellished and unadorned,” “Three types of love,” “Divine and secular women.” The title “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” appeared in the same catalog in 1792.

The plot of the film still causes heated debate. There are two main versions. According to the first, in the painting Venus persuades Medea to help Jason, which is borrowed from the popular book at that time “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili”, the authorship of which is attributed to the Dominican monk Francesco Colonna. According to another version, in the painting Titian depicted his own beloved, the beautiful Violanta, depicting her in earthly and divine form. But whatever the original plot, it was forgotten, since it did not have much significance in comparison with the artistic power of the canvas.

There is an opinion that Titian tried to convey a certain state of mind. The landscape, made in soft and calm colors, the clear sonority of the colors of beautiful and somewhat cold-toned clothes, the freshness of the naked body - all this creates a feeling of calm joy. The poetic unity and peaceful mood of the picture is greatly contributed by the landscape. The spreading rays of the setting sun, dark green tree crowns, heavy wet clouds over still water most wonderfully harmonize with the beauty of women.

If you try to interpret the symbols and signs in the picture, then you can confidently point only to the coat of arms of Niccolo Aurelio, located on the front wall of the sarcophagus and cupid, which definitely symbolizes Love. Everything else will remain in the territory of conjecture and conjecture, and therefore it is better to abandon attempts to endow the picture with any meaning and simply admire its visual beauty. Perhaps it is inner silence and tranquility that is the true goal of the picture, because is it possible to find a better state to experience earthly and heavenly love?

Currently, the painting “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” is in the collection of the Borghese Gallery in Rome.

Dear friends!

I offer you an “investigation” of Titian’s painting “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love.”

It was very interesting and exciting to travel through Titian's labyrinths.

A short introduction is necessary here. I have known this painting by Titian since childhood. From a very early age, I felt it, touched it, absorbed it. Even before I started reading, I was leafing through art albums that were in our house. And this picture could not pass me by. Two beautiful young women - as a symbol of eternal beauty and immortality against the backdrop of majestic landscapes. So this picture was kept in my memory.

Businessman, writer, screenwriter and collector Oleg Nasobin under the nickname avvakoum I dedicated a series of posts to this picture:
http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/410978.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/411595.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/412853.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/950485.html

After reading these posts, I thought: perhaps my painting also has its own secret meaning, invisible on the surface, What? I tried to figure it out. And I offer you my thoughts on this matter.

I carefully read Oleg Nasobin’s posts and comments to them. I took some finds and details into use. Thanks for them. I would be grateful for all comments, clarifications, additions and objections.

The starting point of my research was the fact that the customer of this painting was Niccolò Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. The Council of Ten is the governing body of the powerful Venice, the pearl of the Adriatic. the customer clearly spoke not on his own behalf, but on behalf of other forces who wished to remain anonymous.
But for the “cover legend,” Aurelio ordered the painting as a gift to his bride, the young widow Laura Bogaratto, whom he later married. To strengthen the “legend,” Aurelio’s coat of arms was depicted on the front wall of the sarcophagus. But all this is a “smokescreen” designed to distract from the real meaning of the picture and from the real “customers”. It is interesting to note that the painting received its name “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” almost two centuries after its creation.

It is obvious that during Titian’s lifetime the painting was untitled, or only a narrow circle of people knew its real name.

What is the mystery of the picture? What did Titian actually paint? It must be said right away that the great artist was privy to the intricacies of secret history and secret societies.

Let's turn to the picture itself. What do we see on it?

Two young women - naked and dressed in a fluffy dress - are sitting on the edge of a sarcophagus filled with water, where Cupid has put his hand.

A river flows in the background of Heavenly Love.

The river can be interpreted as the underground river Alfios, an allegory of secret “underground legends”, a symbol of invisible knowledge passed on by “initiates” from generation to generation.

Or you can interpret the River as a heavenly teaching. It should be noted that water has long symbolized information and Knowledge.

It can be assumed that the sarcophagus contains water from this sacred river. A stream of water in turn pours out of the sarcophagus, feeding the bush depicted in the foreground of the picture. That is, in this case, the sarcophagus is the Source.

What kind of water-Knowledge is concentrated in the sarcophagus?

Let's resort to decryption.

There are several tips here. This is the Templar tower behind the back of the “earthly” woman, that is, the teachings of the Templars and the sarcophagus itself. Now we will see that this is a sarcophagus, and not a pool or fountain, as some commentators on the painting interpret.

Sarcophagus - a carved stone coffin. And if this is a coffin, then whose remains lie there? And here we have the following “hints”. Dish and Cupid. Some commentators point out that the angel is catching flowers from the water. But flowers, as you know, float on the surface of the water, and do not sink. So what is a child looking for in the water? To answer, just look at the dish. The exact same dish is depicted in Titian’s painting “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist.”

It is interesting to note that Titian has three paintings on this theme.

The first of them was written a year after the creation of “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love.” And the dish there is different. But there is a “clue” in the form of a right hand wrapped in a scarlet cape. Earthly Love also has a right scarlet sleeve

But the painting, painted already in 1560, depicts “our” dish.

An interesting fact is that the painting “Salome” turned out to be “prophetic” in relation to one significant historical event. Since 1649, Titian's Salome has been in the collection of Hampton Court Palace in Great Britain. And in the same year, the English monarch Charles I was beheaded.

And in another picture, where Salome is depicted, you can also see a dish already familiar to us.

(In parentheses, it can be noted that this picture is associated with a story similar to the one described by Oleg Nasobin in the post: “Sotheby’s deprived the client of money and sleep” http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/1281815.html

Those who want to familiarize themselves with the material regarding Titian's painting can follow the link http://thenews.kz/2010/02/25/267486.html).

So, we have established that for some reason, years later, Titian decided to “decipher” the dish he had painted earlier and “link” it with the head of John the Baptist.

As you know, according to legend, John the Baptist was the first Grand Master of the Priory of Sion.

This means that the artist depicted the Priory of Sion in a symbolic form; in this case, water (the teachings of the Priory of Sion) in turn becomes a source of nutrition (Knowledge) for the bush. It seems to “give birth” to this bush. At the same time, as I already mentioned, behind “earthly love” is the Tamlian tower...

So, the key to unraveling the picture is the BUSH. What kind of bush is this?

This is a FIVE-PETAL ROSE, something in between (or a hybrid) of a rose and a rose hip. More precisely, a type of the oldest rose - Dog Rose. As you know, rose hips are the ancestor of roses.

This five-petalled rose was the magical plant of the Rosicrucians. If you look closely, you can see that the bush itself is “drawn” in the shape of a cross.

This plant, the leaves of the five-petalled rose, were depicted on the symbols of the Rosicrucian Order.

It is interesting that in the Czech Republic, where various mystical movements were strong, the Festival of the Five Petal Rose is held every year in Krumlov. This rose is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of Cesky Krumlov.

But the meaning of the five-petal rose does not end there.

The five-petalled rose is also a Tudor Rose,traditional heraldic emblemEngland and Hampshire. It is on the coat of arms of Great Britain and Canada.

And this same five-petalled rose is depicted on the Tarot card - the Major Arcana at number 13. Death.

The heraldic five-petalled rose was a symbol of the master-apprentice in Masonic teaching.

And the teachings of the Rosicrucians, as is known, became the forerunner of Freemasonry in the form in which it has come down to our time.

If we “investigate” the painting further, the tree behind the angel can be classified as an elm. According to the shape of the crown, the shape of the leaves, the density of the crown. Of course, this is just an assumption, but after comparing several photos of elms with the image of a tree in a Titian painting, I fully accept this fact.

Then we can assume that the painting depicts a historical event known as the “cutting of the elm,” when the Templars broke with the Priory of Sion and the Rosicrucians took the place of the Templars. In any case, many of the details in the picture, which we have already examined, speak precisely about this.

But let's get back to our ladies.

The “earthly” lady holds a five-petal rose flower in her hand. She has a flower in her hand, but her hand is in a glove, and she does not yet feel the flower with her skin, that is, there is a barrier between her and the Teachings of the Rosicrucians. Disputes are caused by the object at hand of earthly Love. Some say it is a bowl, others say it is a mandolin. Although it is possible that Titian deliberately “encrypted” the bowl. If he wanted to depict the mandolin in such a way that there was no “room” for other interpretations, he would have done it. But for some reason, an unambiguous interpretation of the subject at hand of earthly Love is difficult. Thus, Titian “hints” us at the cup.

In this case, the following analogies are easily drawn, firstly, with the Holy Grail, and secondly, the cups were used in Rosicrucian rituals. The object in the hand of Heavenly Love can be defined as an incense burner, which was also used in the ritual rites of the Rosicrucians.

Earthly love looks into the viewer's eyes, and earthly love looks at her red shoe (or golden-red), or rather, the tip of the shoe. Once upon a time I read that red shoes are a symbol of the goddess Isis, a symbol of the initiate. If we go further, we can draw an analogy with the red papal shoes. Also a symbol of “high dedication”.

So, with a high degree of probability we can say that “during” this picture an initiation into membership of the Rosicrucian Order took place. The process of initiation was taking place. And it is also likely that this process included the ritual of kissing the tip of the red shoe. The two ladies are similar to each other, they are “tied” by the sarcophagus and are equally close to the viewer. They have two legs for two, since the leg of “heavenly love” is hidden from the viewer’s eyes, and the second leg is symbolized by the tip of the red shoe. We can say that the main postulate of Hermeticism is contained in such an encrypted form: “what is above is below, what is below is also above.” That is, the heavenly is reflected in the earthly, and the earthly in the heavenly.
One of the Rothschilds wanted to buy this painting. But his proposal was rejected. The symbol of the secret mysteries remains on Italian territory. In Rome. The city where the Vatican is located is one of the centers of world control.

There are still questions. Can earthly Love be identified with Salome, and earthly Love with Mary Magdalene (although her hair is not loose, as in canonical images)?

Or is there a reference here to the Sixth Arcana of the Tarot - Lovers...

Not all of Titian’s mysteries have yet been solved, which means that new discoveries and finds await us...

I will be grateful for all clarifications, additions and comments.

For several centuries, Titian's painting was considered only an allegory. However, the artist wrote differently: he deliberately mixed symbols with specific details. After all, the goal was not at all abstract - to smooth out the scandal in the secular circles of Venice.

Titian "Heavenly Love and Earthly Love." Borghese Gallery


The painting was painted around 1514. The painting received the title “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” in 1693. The women depicted on it with identical faces were identified with two hypostases of the goddess of love, known to Renaissance intellectuals from the works of ancient philosophers. However, the title of Titian's masterpiece was first mentioned in 1613 as "Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned." It is unknown what the artist or the customer called the canvas.

Only in the 20th century did researchers pay attention to the abundance of wedding symbols and the coat of arms of the Venetian family on the canvas. They concluded that the owner of the coat of arms, the secretary of the Council of Ten Nicolo Aurelio, commissioned the painting from Titian on the occasion of his marriage in 1514 to Laura Bagarotto, a young widow from Padua. As the Venetian chronicler of that time, Marin Sanudo, noted, this wedding was “discussed everywhere” - the newlyweds had too difficult a past.

In 1509, at the height of the military conflict between the Venetian Republic and the Holy Roman Empire, Laura's first husband, the Paduan aristocrat Francesco Borromeo, took the side of the emperor. Padua was subordinate to Venice, so Borromeo was arrested and probably executed by the Council of Ten as a traitor. Many of Laura's relatives were imprisoned and exiled. Her father Bertuccio Bagarotto, a university professor, was hanged in front of his wife and children on the same charge, which in his case was unjust.

Permission for the marriage of a high-ranking Venetian official with the widow and daughter of state criminals was discussed by a commission headed by the Doge, and it was received. Through the efforts of the groom, Laura’s previously confiscated rich dowry was returned the day before the wedding. The painting, commissioned from the most prestigious and by no means cheap artist in Venice, was probably supposed to add respectability to the marriage in the eyes of fellow citizens.

1. Bride. According to art critic Rona Goffin, it is unlikely that this is a portrait of Laura Bagarotto, because then the naked lady was painted from her, which in those days would have damaged the reputation of a decent woman. This is an idealized image of a newlywed.

2. Dress. As shown by radiographic analysis, Titian first painted it in red. However, at the top of Laura's dowry list was a wedding dress made of white satin, and Rhona Goffin suggested that the artist decided to depict this particular dress. A belt, a symbol of marital fidelity, and gloves are also attributes of a wedding dress: grooms gave these things as a gift for betrothal as a sign of the seriousness of their intentions.

3. Wreath. Evergreen myrtle is a plant of Venus, symbolizing love and fidelity. Wreaths woven from it were an attribute of weddings in Ancient Rome.

4. Bowl. As Rona Goffin wrote, grooms traditionally presented wedding gifts to Venetian brides in similar vessels.

5. Rabbits. The symbol of fertility next to the figure of the bride is a wish for the newlyweds to have numerous offspring.

6. Nude. According to most researchers, including Italian Renaissance art expert Federico Zeri and British Titian specialist Charles Hope, this is the goddess Venus. She and the newlywed are so similar because in ancient poetry the bride was often compared to the goddess of love. Venus blesses an earthly woman for marriage.

7. Landscape. According to Dzeri, behind the backs of the characters two contrasting symbols associated with marriage are shown: the road up the mountain is the difficult path of prudence and unshakable fidelity, the plain is the bodily pleasures of marriage.

8. Cupid. The son of Venus, the winged god of love here is the mediator between the goddess and the bride.

9. Fountain. It bears the coat of arms of the Aurelio family. According to art historian Walter Friedländer, this is the tomb of Venus's lover Adonis, described in the 15th century novel “Hypnerotomachy of Polyphilus” - a sarcophagus (symbol of death) from which water flows (symbol of life). The relief on the marble depicts the beating of Adonis by the jealous Mars: according to the novel, the young man died at the hands of the god of war. This is not only an indication of the tragically ended love of the goddess, but also a reminder of the sad past of Laura Bagarotto.

10. Lamp. The antique lamp in Venus’s hand, according to Federico Zeri, symbolizes the flame of divine, sublime love.

Titian. Heavenly Love and Earthly Love, ca. 1514

The subject of the painting is of great interest and still causes controversy among art critics. The very fact that the title of the painting has changed many times speaks of its significance and unusualness.
Following Giorgione, Titian wrote in the 1510s a number of allegorical and mythological scenes, the characters of which appear against the backdrop of complete harmony and tranquility of nature. These include one of his most famous works of these years - Earthly Love and Heavenly Love.

In the Borghese Gallery catalog, the painting had various titles: “Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned” (1613), “Three Types of Love” (1650), “Divine and Secular Women” (1700), and, finally, “Heavenly Love and Love earthly" (1792 and 1833).
Which name do you think is more appropriate?

HISTORY OF THE PICTURE.

The painting was commissioned by Niccolò Aurelio, Secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. The coats of arms depicted on the sarcophagus and silver platter belong to the Venetian Aurelio family and the Paduan Bagarotto family, therefore, apparently, the painting was painted in honor of the wedding of Nicolo Aurelio and Laura Bagarotto in 1514.

The wedding was celebrated in Venice on May 17, 1514, and the painting was most likely his wedding gift to the bride. The modern title of the painting was not given by the artist himself.
The work was purchased in 1608 by the art patron Scipione Borghese, after which it began to be exhibited alongside other exhibits from the Borghese collection at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. In 1899, financial tycoon Rothschild made an offer to buy the painting for 4 million lire, but his offer was rejected.

ARTIST'S INTENTION.

“Earthly and Heavenly Love” is one of Titian’s first works, in which the artist’s originality is clearly revealed. The plot of the painting still seems mysterious. Titian's goal is to convey a certain state of mind.
Against the backdrop of a sensual landscape, on a beautiful summer evening, by a well, the water of which a little cupid muddies with his hand, two women are sitting opposite each other.

One, very young, with dreamy eyes, with her head bowed to her shoulder, seems to give herself up to the kisses of the sky, anticipating love. Another, superbly dressed beauty, calm and confident, holds her hand on the lid of the bowl.
Cupid, located between the earthly Venus and the heavenly Venus, lowered his plump hand into the sarcophagus fountain, turning dead water into living water.

Some researchers believe that the painting depicts the meeting of Medea and Venus from “The Dream of Polyphemus,” a literary allegory written in the 15th century by Francesco Colonna. Others see in this painting a portrait of the artist’s beloved, the beautiful Violanta, depicted both in clothes and naked.
But whatever the original subject, literary, symbolic or allegorical, it was soon forgotten, because it had no significance in comparison with the artistic power of the canvas.

In the woman on the left, some art historians see an allegorical figure of Shyness, who hides her wealth in a closed bowl. You can see from her eyes that she is listening to the splash of water, or perhaps to those seductive words with which the naked beauty addresses her.

What is especially striking about it is the character of some kind of massiveness and density. Medea's heavy dress should restrain her impulses and make her movements slow.
A beautiful world appears before us, full of harmony, vitality and sensual charm. These women, naked and clothed, are its embodiment, sitting on the edge of a sarcophagus filled with water, from which little Cupid catches rosehip flowers - a symbol of earthly love. Leaning towards each other, these two beautiful figures form a semblance of an invisible arch, giving everything depicted mystery and grandeur.

The naked body of Venus also does not speak of speed or passion, but reflects a calm nature, alien to rebellion. In the composition itself, in this preponderance of one (left) part of the picture over the other, the same tendency towards heaviness, towards some kind of “materiality” is reflected.
The poetic unity of the picture is greatly contributed by the landscape. The dark green crowns of the trees and heavy wet clouds over the still water harmonize most miraculously with the beauty of the women.
The warm rays of the setting sun spread throughout the landscape, and the hot breath of nature is everywhere.

The artist offers a choice of two ways to live: rapturously dreaming or calmly possessing. Two loves: heavenly and earthly. Titian will paint this picture immediately after the tragic death of Giorgione. He has another 70 years of life ahead of him, which (judging by his biography) he will live in calm possession.

If we already talk about love in front of this picture, then only about earthly love, about love for all nature, for all life as a whole, in which these two beautiful women have the meaning of parts of the whole, and not “heroines”.

The depicted area is shrouded in the twilight of a voluptuous night; - only high on the castle tower and the white glow of dawn burns out in the clouds. A mysterious moment of calm, respite.
The bustle of people retreats to peace, travelers hurry home, and the hour of Venus comes, holding a lamp in her hand to shine in the darkness, the hour of Eros, stirring up the magic pond and turning its dark waters into a wonderful potion.

The royal girl listens to all the rustling in the grass, to the splash of water, to the rustle of foliage thickened in the fading light, to distant cries and singing, and it seems to her that she is being called somewhere, she imagines the gods of love pleasures, she listens to the vows of future embraces and conceptions.
THEY SAY:
That the painting depicts Titian’s beloved woman, Violante, the daughter of the artist Palma the Elder, whose name is associated with the famous portrait of the Venetian golden-haired beauty from Vienna “Violante (La Bella Gatta),” attributed to the brush of Titian or Palma the Elder.

Titian's young chosen one, Violante, is depicted in the painting in two incarnations - in the form of earthly Love and heavenly Love. The lady, traditionally considered the earthly Venus, has all the attributes of a bride: blue and white clothes, myrtle branches in her hand.
Her dress is belted with a sash with a buckle: the emblem of marriage. In front of her, on the parapet, there is a bowl with precious stones: a symbol of completeness and prosperity of family life. Heavenly love is naked, it has nothing to hide...

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ARTIST WANTED TO SAY?

Text with illustrations.http://maxpark.com/community/6782/content/2521020

For several centuries, Titian's painting was considered only an allegory. However, the artist wrote differently: he deliberately mixed symbols with specific details. After all, the goal was not at all abstract - to smooth out the scandal in the secular circles of Venice

Painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love”
Oil on canvas, 118 x 278 cm
Year of creation: around 1514
Now kept in Rome in the Borghese Gallery

The painting of the early Titian received the title “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” in 1693. Based on this, art critics identified the women depicted on it with identical faces with two hypostases of the goddess of love, known to Renaissance intellectuals from the works of ancient philosophers. However, the title of Titian's masterpiece was first mentioned in 1613 as "Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned." It is unknown what the artist or the customer called the canvas.

Only in the 20th century did researchers pay attention to the abundance of wedding symbols and the coat of arms of the Venetian family on the canvas. They concluded that the owner of the coat of arms, the secretary of the Council of Ten Nicolo Aurelio, commissioned the painting from Titian on the occasion of his marriage in 1514 to Laura Bagarotto, a young widow from Padua. As the Venetian chronicler of that time, Marin Sanudo, noted, this wedding was “discussed everywhere” - the newlywed had too difficult a past. In 1509, at the height of the military conflict between the Venetian Republic and the Holy Roman Empire, Laura's first husband, the Paduan aristocrat Francesco Borromeo, took the side of the emperor. Padua was subordinate to Venice, so Borromeo was arrested and probably executed by the Council of Ten as a traitor. Many of Laura's relatives were imprisoned and exiled. Her father Bertuccio Bagarotto, a university professor, was hanged in front of his wife and children on the same charge, which in his case was unjust.

Permission for the marriage of a high-ranking Venetian official with the widow and daughter of state criminals was discussed by a commission headed by the Doge, and it was received. Through the efforts of the groom, Laura’s previously confiscated rich dowry was returned the day before the wedding. The painting, commissioned from the most prestigious and by no means cheap artist in Venice, was probably supposed to add respectability to the marriage in the eyes of fellow citizens.


1. Bride. According to art critic Rona Goffin, it is unlikely that this is a portrait of Laura Bagarotto, because then the naked lady was painted from her, which in those days would have damaged the reputation of a decent woman. This is an idealized image of a newlywed.

2. Dress. As shown by radiographic analysis, Titian first painted it in red. However, at the top of Laura's dowry list was a wedding dress made of white satin, and Rona Goffin believed that the artist decided to depict this dress. A belt, a symbol of marital fidelity, and gloves are also attributes of a wedding dress: grooms gave these things for betrothal as a sign of the seriousness of their intentions.


3. Wreath. Evergreen myrtle is a plant of Venus, symbolizing love and fidelity. Wreaths woven from it were an attribute of weddings in Ancient Rome.


4. Bowl. As Rona Goffin wrote, grooms traditionally presented wedding gifts to Venetian brides in similar vessels.


5. Rabbits. The symbol of fertility next to the figure of the bride is a wish for the newlyweds to have numerous offspring.


6. Nude. According to most researchers, including Italian Renaissance art expert Federico Zeri and British Titian specialist Charles Hope, this is the goddess Venus. She and the newlywed are so similar because in ancient poetry the bride was often compared to the goddess of love. Venus blesses an earthly woman for marriage.


7. Landscape. According to Dzeri, behind the backs of the characters two contrasting symbols associated with marriage are shown: the road up the mountain is the difficult path of prudence and unshakable fidelity, the plain is the bodily pleasures of marriage.


8. Cupid. The son of Venus, the winged god of love here is the mediator between the goddess and the bride.


9. Fountain. It bears the coat of arms of the Aurelio family. According to art critic Walter Friedländer, this is the tomb of Venus's lover Adonis, described in the 15th century novel “Hypnerotomachy of Polyphilus” - a sarcophagus (symbol of death) from which water flows (symbol of life). The relief on the marble depicts the beating of Adonis by the jealous Mars: according to the novel, the young man died at the hands of the god of war. This is not only an indication of the tragically ended love of the goddess, but also a reminder of the sad past of Laura Bagarotto.


10. Lamp. The antique lamp in Venus’s hand, according to Federico Zeri, symbolizes the flame of divine, sublime love.

Artist
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)

Between 1474 and 1490- was born in the city of Pieve di Cadore, which has been part of the Venetian Republic since 1420, into a noble family.
About 1500- moved to Venice to study fine arts.
1517 - received from the Venetian authorities the position of intermediary in the supply of salt, which, according to researchers, indicates his status as the official painter of the republic.
1525 - married Cecilia Soldano, with whom by that time he already had two sons.
1530 - widowed, his wife died after the birth of their daughter Lavinia.
1551–1562 - created “Poems”, a series of paintings based on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”.
1576 - died in his workshop, buried in the Venetian church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.