Heavenly love and earthly love. Titian

The painting was commissioned by Niccolò Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. An indirect fact confirming the identity of the customer is the presence of the coat of arms of Niccolo Aurelio on the front wall of the sarcophagus. Aurelio married a young widow, Laura Bagarotto. The wedding was celebrated in Venice on May 17, 1514, and the painting was most likely his wedding gift to the bride. Modern name the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used at least two centuries after its creation.

Against the backdrop of a sunset landscape, a richly dressed Venetian woman, holding a needlework box with her left hand, and a naked Venus, holding a bowl of fire, are sitting at the source. According to S. Zuffi, dressed girl represents love in marriage; The color of her dress (white), the belt, the gloves on her hands, the myrtle wreath crowning her head, her flowing hair and roses indicate marriage. In the background there is a pair of rabbits - a wish for large offspring. This is not a portrait of Laura Bagarotto, but an allegory of a happy marriage.

A marble sarcophagus turned into a spring is a mysterious detail. Marble, a symbol of death, is quite strange to find in a picture overflowing with wishes for a happy family life. The scene of violence on the sarcophagus apparently recalls the unjust execution of Laura's father, Bertuccio Bagarotto, which occurred in 1509. The basin standing on the sarcophagus is decorated with the heraldic signs of the Bagarotto family. Pure water in the source symbolizes the birth of a new life.

The naked girl symbolizes love, which is transformed into eternal, heavenly, this is indicated by the burning lamp in her raised hand.

Notes

Literature

In Russian

• Batkin L. M. The Italian Renaissance: Issues and People. - M.: RSUH, 1995. - P. 195-196. - 448 p.
• Benois, A. N. Heavenly love, earthly love// History of painting. - St. Petersburg. , 1912-1917. - T. II.
• Dzeri F. (English) Russian . Titian. Earthly love and heavenly love. - White City, 2006. - 48 p. - (One hundred great paintings). - 5000 copies.
• - ISBN 5-7793-0415-7. Zuffi S. it.
• Large atlas of painting. Art. 1000 years. - M.: Olma-Press, 2004. - 432 p. - ISBN 5-224-04316-6. Krivtsun O. A.
• Makarova N. I. Titian: “Earthly and heavenly love” // Ideas and ideals. - 2009. - No. 2..

• Argan G. C. L"Amor sacro e l"Amor profano di Tiziano Vecellio. - Milano: Bompiani, 1950.
• Bonicatti M. Aspetti dell "Umanesimo nella pittura veneta dal 1455 al 1515. - Roma: Cremonese, 1964.
• Calvesi M. it. Un amore per Venere e Proserpina // Art e Dossier it. - 1989. - No. 39.
• Clerici G.P. Tiziano e l"Hypnerotomachia Poliphili e una nuova interpretazione del quadro della Galleria Borghese (L"Amor Sacro e l"Amor Profano) // Bibliofilia XX. - 1918. - No. 19.
• Cozzi G. (English) Russian . Tiziano e Venezia. Atti del Convegno di Studi. - Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 1980.
• Friedlander W. La tintura delle rose.. - The Art Bulletin. - 1938. - Vol. XVI. - P. 320-324.
• Gentili A. Da Tiziano a Tiziano. mito e allegoria nella cultura veneziana del Cinquecento. - Milano: Feltrinelli, 1980.
• Gibellini C. Tiziano. - Milano: Rizzoli, 2003. - (I Classici dell'arte).
• Gnoli U. Amor Sacro e Profano? // Rassegna d'Arte. - 1902. - Vol. II.
• Goffen R. Titian's ‘Sacred and Profane Love’ and Marriage// The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art. - New York: Harper Collins, 1992.
• Titian's Sacred and Profane Love: Individuality and Sexulity in a Renaissance Marriage Picture// Studies of History of Art. - 1993. - Vol. XXV.
• Hope C. Problems of interpretations in Titian's erotic paintings// Tiziano e Venezia. Atti del convegno di studi. - Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 1980.
• Hourticq L. La Fontaine d'amour de Titien // Gazette des Beaux-Arts. - 1917. - Vol. XII.
• Mayer A. L. Aurelio Nicolò: the Commisioner of Titian's Sacred and Profane Love // ​​The Art Bulletin. - 1939. - Vol. XXI.
• Ozzola L. Venere e Elena. L"amor sacro e l"amor profano // L"Arte. - 1906. - Vol. IX.
• Panofsky E. Immagini simboliche. Studi sull "arte del Rinascimento. - Milano: Feltrinelli, 1978.
• Peterson E. Tizians amor sagro e profano und Willkurlichkeiten moderner Kunsterklaurung // Die Galerien Europas. - 1907. - Vol. 2.
• Poppelreuter J. de . Sappho und die Najade Titians, Himmlische und irdische Liebe // Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft. - 1913. - Vol. XXXVI.
• Ricciardi M. L. L"Amor sacro e profano. Un ulteriore tentativo di sciogliere l"enigma // Notizie da Palazzo Albani. - 1986. - Vol. XV.
• Robertson G. Honour, Love and Truth: An Alternative Reading of Titian's Sacred and Profane Love // ​​Renaissance Studies. - 1988. - Vol. 2.
• Valcanover F.ru it.

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 the two hypostases of the goddess of love, known to Renaissance intellectuals from the works 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, this is unlikely to be 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 trousseau list was a wedding dress made of white satin, and Rona 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 characters’ backs there are two contrasting symbols associated with marriage: the road up the mountain - hard way prudence and unshakable fidelity, the plain is bodily pleasures in 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.

Great and famous artist Venice's Titian Veccellio was once commissioned to paint a painting as a gift for a bride. The author did not name his canvas in any way, since he had no idea that he was creating one of greatest canvases artistic arts. A few years later, when the painting was purchased, it was given the name “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love.”

The painting at the well shows two beautiful girls. One is very nicely dressed. She is wearing a chic white dress with red sleeves. Golden fluffy hair. Pure white skin. On the opposite side, in no way inferior in beauty to the first girl, sits a completely naked woman. Only the beautiful satin fabric slightly covers the most intimate areas. Her curves and body are just perfect. The skin is clear, the hair is golden-colored, long and silky. Apparently, this is the goddess of beauty. She went down to the earthly beauty for an important conversation. The goddess tells her something, and the girl listens carefully and thinks.

On background twilight is already visible. The sun disappeared behind the clouds, and only a line orange color decorates the sky. Behind the well, a little cupid is playing with water. Perhaps he went down with the goddess, or perhaps he accompanied a girl in love. It seems to me that this is the bride for whom the painting was intended. The author compared her with a goddess and showed that earthly women are very beautiful and attractive.

This picture takes important place both in the past and in our time and refers to the best pictures author. Even critics admire her.

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, this is unlikely to be 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 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 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 art.
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.

Titian considered one of greatest painters Renaissance. The artist was not yet thirty years old when he was recognized as the best in Venice. One of his most famous paintings is “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” ( Amor Sacro and Amor Profano). It conceals many hidden symbols and signs, which art historians are still struggling to decipher.

Most researchers are of the opinion that this painting was supposed to be a gift for the wedding of the secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic, Nicolo Aurelio, and Laura Bagarotto. One of the indirect confirmations of this version is the coat of arms of Aurelio, which can be seen on the front wall of the sarcophagus.

It was not only Titian who filled his canvases with hidden symbolism. In the painting of another Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli