| Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting Coming to U.S.
By STAN PARCHIN
February 26, 2010
| | Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (Italian, ca. 1485/90-1576). Diana and Callisto (1556-59). Oil on canvas. 187 x 204.5 cm (73.6 x 80.5 in.). Bridgewater Loan, 1945. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. | 
| | Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (Italian, ca. 1485/90-1576). Diana and Actaeon (1556-59). Oil on canvas. 184.5 x 202.2 cm (72.6 x 79.6 in.). National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh and National Gallery, London. | 
| | Jacopo Bassano (Italian, ca. 1510-1592). The Adoration of the Kings (early 1540s). Oil on canvas. 183 x 235 cm (72 x 92.5 in.). National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. |
As part of a new multi-year collaboration, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia presents the traveling exhibition Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland (October 16, 2010-January 2, 2011). Among the 12 paintings and 13 drawings from the Italian Renaissance on display are Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon (1556-59), both monumental canvases recognized as artistic highpoints in the career of Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (ca. 1485/90-1576). Also represented in the installation are Lorenzo Lotto (ca. 1480-1556), Jacopo Bassano (ca. 1510-1592), Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) and Paolo Veronese (1528-1588).
Titian's Diana Paintings
Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon were painted by Titian for King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598). The richly colorful compositions belong to a series of six works based on scenes of Roman mythology from Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses (8 A.D.). A stream flows from one painting to the other, indicating that the canvases were designed as a pair. In one, the goddess Diana learns that her handmaiden Callisto is pregnant with the child of Jupiter. In the other, Diana and her nymphs are caught bathing by the hunter Actaeon.
John Leighton, Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, said, “These two paintings have long been recognized as among Titian’s very finest creations and as supreme masterpieces of Venetian Renaissance art. Their ambitious scale, the masterful unity of color and subject matter, the art historical significance and their excellent condition all contribute to the fame and reputation of these works.”
In an attempt to keep the Titian paintings in the United Kingdom, the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London raised the necessary funds to jointly acquire Diana and Actaeon in 2008. They are currently engaged in a similar effort to purchase Diana and Callisto.
Other Paintings on View
In addition to the Diana paintings, other works on view in the exhibition include: Lorenzo Lotto's Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Peter, Francis and an Unidentified Female Saint (ca. 1505); Titian's Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Unidentified Male Saint (ca. 1515-20) and Venus Rising from the Sea (ca. 1520); Jacopo Bassano's The Adoration of the Kings (early 1540s); and Jacopo Tintoretto's Christ Carried to the Tomb (late 1550s).
After its appearance at the High Museum of Art, "Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland" travels to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (February 5-May 1, 2011) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (May 21-August 14, 2011).
Sources
Brown, David Alan, et al. Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting (exh. cat.). Washington, D.C. and Vienna: National Gallery of Art and Kunsthistorisches Museum, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2006.
Ilchman, Frederick (ed.), et al. Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice (exh. cat.). Boston: MFA Publications, 2009.
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