Masterpieces

Charles V on Horseback — Titian

Alone in a twilight landscape, clad in his gleaming armour, a long lance in hand, the emperor advances on horseback, sovereign and grave: Titian’s Equestrian Portrait of Charles V at Mühlberg is one of the most famous portraits in the history of art and the birth certificate of the modern equestrian portrait. In a single...

Masterpieces

The Venus of Urbino — Titian

A young naked woman, reclining on a bed in a Venetian palace, holds the viewer’s gaze with quiet assurance: Titian’s Venus of Urbino is the most famous nude of the Renaissance and one of the most discussed images in the whole history of art. Through its assumed sensuality, its direct gaze and its composition, it...

Masterpieces

The Assumption of the Virgin — Titian

Above the high altar of one of the largest churches in Venice, an immense altarpiece nearly seven metres high unfolds a celestial vision: the Virgin Mary, borne by a host of angels, rises towards God in a blaze of golden light, while below the apostles, astonished, stretch out their arms towards her. Titian’s Assumption of...