The name of this illustrious painter was Tiziano Vecellio or Vecelli,
and he is called by the Italians, Tiziano Vecellio da Cadore. He was
descended of a noble family; born at the castle of Cadore in the Friuli
in 1477, and died in 1576, according to Ridolfi; though Vasari and
Sandrart place his birth in 1480. Lanzi says he died in 1576, aged 99
years. He early showed a passion for the art, which was carefully
cultivated by his parents.--Lanzi says in a note, that it is pretty
clearly ascertained that he received his first instruction from Antonio
Rossi, a painter of Cadore; if so, it was at a very tender age, for
when he was ten years old he was sent to Trevigi, and placed under
Sebastiano Zuccati. He subsequently went to Venice, and studied
successively under Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. Giorgione was his
fellow-student under the last named master, with whom Titian made
extraordinary progress, and attained such an exact imitation of his
style that their works could scarcely be distinguished, which greatly
excited the jealousy of Bellini.
On the death of Giorgione, Titian rose rapidly into favor. He was soon
afterwards invited to the court of Alphonso, Duke of Ferrara, for whom
he painted his celebrated picture of Bacchus and Ariadne, and two other
fabulous subjects, which still retain somewhat of the style of
Giorgione. It was there that he became acquainted with Ariosto, whose
portrait he painted, and in return the poet spread abroad his fame in
the Orlando Furioso. In 1523, the Senate of Venice employed him to
decorate the Hall of the Council Chamber, where he represented the
famous Battle of Cadore, between the Venetians and the Imperialists--a
grand performance, that greatly increased his reputation. This work was
afterwards destroyed by fire, but the composition has been preserved by
the burin of Fontana. His next performance was his celebrated picture of
St. Pietro Martire, in the church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, at Venice,
which is generally regarded as his master-piece in historical painting.
This picture was carried to Paris by the French, and subsequently
restored by the Allies. Notwithstanding the importance of these and
other commissions, and the great reputation he had acquired, it is said,
though with little probability of truth, that he received such a small
remuneration for his works, that he was in actual indigence in 1530,
when the praises bestowed upon him in the writings of his friend Pietro
Aretino, recommended him to the notice of the Emperor Charles V., who
had come to Bologna to be crowned by Pope Clement VII. Titian was
invited thither, and painted the portrait of that monarch, and his
principal attendants, for which he was liberally rewarded.--About this
time, he was invited to the court of the Duke of Mantua, whose portrait
he painted, and decorated a saloon in the palace with a series of the
Twelve Cæsars, beneath which Giulio Romano afterwards painted a subject
from the history of each. In 1543, Paul III. visited Ferrara, where
Titian was then engaged, sat for his portrait and invited him to Rome,
but previous engagements with the Duke of Urbino, obliged him to decline
or defer the invitation. Having completed his undertakings for that
prince, he went to Rome at the invitation of the Cardinal Farnese in
1548, where he was received with marks of great distinction. He was
accommodated with apartments in the palace of the Belvidere, and painted
the Pope, Paul III., a second time, whom he represented seated between
the Cardinal Farnese and Prince Ottavio. He also painted his famous
picture of Danaë, which caused Michael Angelo to lament that Titian had
not studied the antique as accurately as he had nature, in which case
his works would have been inimitable, by uniting the perfection of
coloring with correctness of design. It is said that the Pope was so
captivated with his works that he endeavored to retain him at Rome, and
offered him as an inducement the lucrative office of the Leaden Seal,
then vacant by the death of Frà Sebastiano del Piombo, but he declined
on account of conscientious scruples. Titian had no sooner returned from
Rome to Venice, than he received so pressing an invitation from his
first protector, Charles V., to visit the court of Spain, that he could
no longer refuse; and he accordingly set out for Madrid, where he
arrived at the beginning of 1550, and was received with extraordinary
honors. After a residence of three years at Madrid, he returned to
Venice, whence he was shortly afterwards invited to Inspruck, where he
painted the portrait of Ferdinand, king of the Romans, his queen and
children, in one picture.--Though now advanced in years, his powers
continued unabated, and this group was accounted one of his best
productions. He afterwards returned to Venice, where he continued to
exercise his pencil to the last year of his long life.