We are about to study a few pictures reproduced from the works of a
great Venetian painter of the sixteenth century,--Titian. The span of
this man's life covered nearly a hundred years, from 1477 to 1576, a
period when Venice was a rich and powerful city. The Venetians were a
pleasure-loving people, fond of pomp and display. They delighted in
sumptuous entertainments, and were particularly given to pageants. We
read of the picturesque processions that paraded the square of St.
Mark's, or floated in gondolas along the grand canal. The city was full
of fine buildings, palaces, churches, and public halls. Their richly
ornamented fronts of colored marbles, bordering the blue water of the
canals, made a brilliant panorama of color. The buildings were no less
beautiful within than without, being filled with the splendid paintings
of the Venetian masters.
The pictures in the churches and monasteries illustrated sacred story
and the fives of the saints; those in the public halls depicted
historical and allegorical themes, while the private palaces were
adorned with mythological scenes and portraits.
Titian engaged in works of all these kinds, and seemed equally skilful
in each. The great number and variety of his pictures bring vividly
before us the manners and customs of his times. His art is like a great
mirror in which Venice of the sixteenth century is clearly reflected in
all her magnificence. As we study our little prints, we must bear in
mind that the original paintings glow with rich and harmonious color. As
far as possible let us try to supply this lost color from our
imagination.
Nearly all the notable personages of the time sat to Titian for their
portraits,--emperors, queens, and princes, popes, and cardinals, the
doges, or dukes, of Venice, noblemen, poets, and fair women. Wearing the
costumes of a bygone age, these men and women look out of their canvases
as if they were still living, breathing human beings. The painter
endowed them with the magic gift of immortality. Though the names of
many of the sitters are now forgotten, and we know little or nothing of
their lives, they are still real persons to us, with their life history
written on their faces.
Such is the man called Parma, who is believed to have been a physician
of Titian's time, but whose only biography is this portrait. If we were
told that it was the portrait of some eminent physician now practising
in New York or London, we should perhaps be equally ready to believe it.
We might meet such a figure in our streets to-morrow. There is nothing
in the costume to mark it as peculiar to any century or country. The
black gown is such as is still worn by clergymen and university men. The
man would not have to be pointed out to us as a celebrity; we should
know him at once as a person of distinction.
[Illustration: Fr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son. Sc.