Dec 06 2007
Faith in Art
This piece is Christ Carrying the Cross, by Tiziano Vecellio (Titian). The artist painted this in his elder years (1570-1575), which were painful because of the loss of his friends, family and patron. It is said that, “In his late works Titian’s signature style became increasingly loose, until, as described by one of his students, he painted “more with his fingers than with the brush.”
From the Web Gallery of Art:
The elderly Titian’s final years are marked by the anguish of personal tragedy. The year 1556 saw the death of his close friend of thirty years, Pietro Aretino. In 1558 Charles V died in the solitude of the monastery of St Yuste; sentiments of gratitude and respect had long bound Titian to his old patron. A year later his brother Francesco died — a trusted and unobtrusive collaborator on countless painting projects. The effect these losses had on Titian is clear in some of his letters to Philip II but his paintings remain the most eloquent testimony of his distress in these years.
