Love and Landscapes: Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, as a Lesson for the Bride
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Titian painted the mystifying Sacred and Profane Love in 1514 and its intended message is still disputed among scholars. The controversy primarily lies in the question of whether the two frontal subjects in the painting represent twin Venus’ as conceptualized by Plato or if the scene depicts a “lesson for the bride” scenario with the bride, Laura Bagarotto, on the left and Venus on the right. Despite establishing the women as twin Venuses, the intended message remains inconclusive until thorough analyzation of the iconographical clues dispersed throughout the painting is conducted. This paper seeks to disclose the intended meaning of the painting by making connections in the artist’s early works through the reoccurring buildings in the landscapes that he adopted from his friend and mentor, Giorgione. This landscape motif was established during Titian’s completion of Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus with its final debut emerging in Sacred and Profane Love to represent the artist’s ultimate separation from his mentor whilst simultaneously communicating a message of faith and love within the marital painting.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Anne Muraoka
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture
Session Title
College of Arts & Letters 3
Location
Learning Commons @ Perry Library Room 1306
Start Date
2-8-2020 10:15 AM
End Date
2-8-2020 11:15 AM
Love and Landscapes: Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, as a Lesson for the Bride
Learning Commons @ Perry Library Room 1306
Titian painted the mystifying Sacred and Profane Love in 1514 and its intended message is still disputed among scholars. The controversy primarily lies in the question of whether the two frontal subjects in the painting represent twin Venus’ as conceptualized by Plato or if the scene depicts a “lesson for the bride” scenario with the bride, Laura Bagarotto, on the left and Venus on the right. Despite establishing the women as twin Venuses, the intended message remains inconclusive until thorough analyzation of the iconographical clues dispersed throughout the painting is conducted. This paper seeks to disclose the intended meaning of the painting by making connections in the artist’s early works through the reoccurring buildings in the landscapes that he adopted from his friend and mentor, Giorgione. This landscape motif was established during Titian’s completion of Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus with its final debut emerging in Sacred and Profane Love to represent the artist’s ultimate separation from his mentor whilst simultaneously communicating a message of faith and love within the marital painting.