Titian's Poesie soon to be reunited

Titian, "Diana and Actaeon" (1556-59),
National Gallery & National Gallery of Scotland, NG 6611

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, 1488/90-1576), the great Venetian painter, famously sought a lucrative commission from King Philip II of Spain. A suite of paintings (created 1556-1560) was submitted to attract the king's approval, each inspired by classical mythological narratives Titian derived from Latin poets. Especially Ovid's Metamorphoses, but also other classical Latin texts, take on new life and new meanings in the mature conception of Titian's masterpieces. The septuagenarian artist's fixation on the importance of graphic narrative has long invited comparison with Ovid's narrative mastery, and that same fixation justifies Titian's calling the suite his Poesie (poetry).

    The British National Gallery and its sibling National Gallery of Scotland own a portion of the Poesie suite, paintings to be considered discreetly from the several other Titians owned there and beyond. The Spring of 2020 will find the National Gallery teaming with the Wallace Collection, the Prado, and Boston's Gardner Museum to reunite the six-painting suite for the first time since the 16th Century. The exhibition, Titian: Love Desire Death will run from 16 March until 14 June 2020.

Titian, "Diana and Callisto" (1556-59),
National Gallery & National Gallery of Scotland, NG6616

The ramp-up to the Exhibition involves a short series of brief broadcasts on Facebook Live called "Uniting Titian's 'poesie'". The first installment aired on 20 January 2020, and one per day will show throughout the week at 6:15 GMT. Fortunately, the links on Facebook allow viewers to watch the recorded broadcasts later. Follow this link to catch up after the initial showing.

Of course there are many other Titians to encounter, even within the same museums where the Poesie paintings reside. But the exceptional opportunity to see this suite of paintings together at once is sort of a reason to plan a trip to London this spring!




Paintings in the poesie are
Diana and Actaeon (1556-1559), Actaeon1.0033_Titian
Diana and Callisto (1556-1559), Callisto1.0022_Titian
Venus and Adonis (1554), Adonis1.0032.1_Titian
Danaë (1554-1556), Danaë1.0008.2a3_TitianWellington
Rape of Europa (1560-1562), Europa1.0028_Titian
Perseus and Andromeda (1554-1556), PerseusAndromeda1.0015_Titian