Titian's Mythological Paintings

Mythological Paintings by Titian

Tiziano Vecellio (1490-1576), better known as Titian, painted several impressive works on mythological themes. By the way, Titian comes from his Latinized name Titianus. This article will present some of his most important paintings with mythological scenes. All presented works are oil paintings created for patrons willing to pay the artist to decorate their luxurious homes (palaces). Some ended up in museums and galleries, while others are in private collections and can only be seen by the public when the owner wants to.

You probably already know the myth about Theseus, who killed the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Ariadne, a Cretan princess, helped him; they escaped to Nexus, where he left her. The painting shows her on the shore while Bacchus approaches in a chariot with two cheetahs. The god of wine, fertility, and insanity is jumping out of the chariot, preparing to grab Ariadne. He will take her to heaven, where she will be transformed into a constellation. In the background, we can see Theseus' ship. In the sky, it's the Northern Crown.

Amusing fact: The initial drawing for this painting was made by Raphael, who originally got the commission, but he died before he could start painting. Bacchus and Ariadne, now displayed at the National Gallery in London, is part of the cycle made for the Duke of Ferrara. Titian painted two more paintings in this cycle: The Worship of Venus and The Bacchanal of the Andrians.

The scene of this masterpiece is quite simple. A group of men and women celebrate with wine. They obviously praise Bacchus, who is not seen. However, there are rumors that he is most likely on the departing ship. However, this is not the only speculation. The sleeping nude nymph can be interpreted as Ariadne from the previous painting. The corpulent man on the left may be Silenus, the tutor of Bacchus. We can also recognize an ivy crown, a symbol of Bacchus, held by a young man, turned with his back toward the observer.

The model for the women in red and white may be the same: a frequent model and Titian's mistress, Violante. The hint of her name is the violets in her hair!

The Worship of Venus is the third painting in the cycle. It represents a scene from the ceremony, held each April 1, when women made offerings to Venus, the goddess of beauty, sex, and victory. This way, women got rid of 'the blemish on their bodies.' Titian put a statue of Venus to the right of the painting, along with two nymphs of different ages. The older one holds a mirror in her extended hand and checks the decor. The scene is crowded with playful cupids, performing all kinds of activities suitable for young boys.

This oil painting, just like the previous one, is today in the possession of the Prado in Madrid.

As you'll see, Venus was among Titian's favorite painting subjects.

The painting features Venus enjoying the music of the lute player. The lute was best known for love madrigals, and the cupid who crowns the goddess with a wreath of flowers is another symbol of love. In the background, we can see nymphs and satyrs dancing to the shepherd's music. The pose of Venus is not as erotic as on numerous other occasions.

The experts agree that it radiates confidence and power in females over males. Today, this painting belongs to the Met Museum.

This is the most erotic painting in the article. Venus of Urbino, currently in possession of the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, is also the most controversial. Some critics believe it simply depicts Zaffetta, a famous courtesan, prepared for her customer, others that this painting was ordered by Ippolito de Medici (but he never paid for it) or Guidobaldo II (who may not have ordered it, but definitely bought it) to celebrate his marriage. There's also a dispute about the position of her hand. Is it a gesture, naive shyness, or a part of masturbation (which, by the way, was an important part of foreplay in Roman times)?

While we are dealing with Venus, it's probably a good opportunity to drop another trivia. Venus is the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. There are theories that April got her name from Aphrodite, but linguists are not on the same page. They, of course, agree that March (the first month in the Roman calendar) got its name after Mars, the god of war, May after the goddess of growth, and June after Juno, the goddess of marriage. July and August are obviously named after the emperors with powers comparable to divine powers. From September to December, the months are simply named after their order (septimus - seventh month, etc.).

The Aphrodite nicely fits in April, doesn't she? The fact that she is the goddess of love, the moody and capricious emotion, comparable to April showers, is another point in favor of the presented theory. The third point is the already-mentioned custom of worshiping Venus on April 1. Do we really need to say more?

The scene with Venus and Adonis (her mortal lover and ideal of ancient male beauty) was painted by Titian and his pupils at least 30 (!) times. In fact, there are so many versions that experts classify them into groups, for instance, by the height of the canvas or with two or three dogs. The height is quite an interesting sign because more height means more sky, and this means more ultramarine, made from lapis lazuli, an extra expensive pigment (pricer than gold!), which can lead us to the conclusion of making different versions of the same painting for clients with different depths of their pockets. Anyway, nobody knows which version comes first or at which one Titian invested the most effort.

Anyway, the painting is, as expected, rich with symbols and elements that offer various interpretations. Her squashed bottom and her gesture of trying to prevent him from leaving, however, are the most powerful effects of the painting, a part of the series made for King Philip II of Spain. All the next paintings belong to the same series, painted between 1550 and 1562.

The painting is known under several titles, often only as Danae. As we are already accustomed, there are several versions of the same painting, created after the same sketch, with the same composition, but differing in details. They were all (at least six) created between 1544 and 1562.

Danae is a mythological princess mentioned by several classic writers, including Boccaccio. At her birth, it was prophesied that her firstborn would kill her father (similar prophecies are found in fairy tales, like Princess Rosette by Madame d'Aulnoy), so the king decides to lock her into a bronze tower. As we can expect, his fight with fate is futile. Zeus visits her in the form of a golden shower and impregnates the princess.

The shower of gold is another one on the list of symbols in Titian's paintings. In his time, the most popular prostitutes were showered with gold coins. Gold, obviously, symbolizes wealth, success, and good luck. The echo of this myth is also seen in the scene from Mother Holle by the Grimm Brothers, where the good girl is showered with gold dust.

Danae is depicted in the same pose in the paintings (six, at least, but likely more), but the background can vary significantly. There is only one painting with Cupid trying to catch the gold; all others put an old man in his place.

In the story, Danae gave birth to Perseus. Her father doesn't believe in Zeus' fatherhood and casts Danae and Perseus in a wooden chest into the sea. (The same element is also present in the already mentioned Princess Rosette.) Of course, the prophecy later fulfills.

From Perseus' conception in the painting with Danae, we continue to Perseus, one of the greatest Greek heroes. Of course, as a son of Zeus, he had a head start on every mission, but a set of his accomplishments is still impressive. It seems beast-slaying was his specialty. One of his adventures led him to Aethiopia.

In Aethiopia, Cepheus ruled the kingdom with his wife, Cassiopea. She was so proud of her beautiful daughter Andromeda, that she claimed that she was even more beautiful than the Nereids, sea nymphs. Their protector Poseidon sent a sea monster, Cetus, to punish Aethiopia, and the only way to stop his killing spree was a sacrifice of the princess. Andromeda was already chained to the rocks, waiting for a cruel death, when Perseus arrived.

He petrifies the monster with Medusa's head and marries Andromeda, which leads to more complications. But this is another story. In Titian's painting, we see Perseus in action. He is equipped with a winged helmet and boots. His sword and shield were also borrowed from the gods.

This painting was created as a pair with Perseus and Andromeda. Old research says that the painting of Jason and Medea was supposed to be created. We don't know why Titian and his client chose to change their minds. However, here we are.

The Rape of Europe (sometimes The Abduction of Europa) can be interpreted in various ways. In the painting, Titian decided to express it in a violent, not seductive way. Her legs are on the same side of the bull (Zeus turned into the bull to seduce her), her hand on the bull's horn, a sea monster in the background, and the color of her scarf suggests danger. On the other hand, there are still three cupids, perhaps representing the three children Europe gave birth to in Crete, where she arrived on the bull's back. She became the first queen of Crete. When Zeus left with her, he gave her three precious gifts.

Zeus (Romans called him Jupiter) was apparently insatiable. One of the girls who caught his luscious eye was Callisto, an accompaniment of the virgin goddess Diana, the goddess of hunting and the Moon. Callisto swore to Diana that she would stay a virgin, but Jupiter tricked her by transforming himself into Diana and seducing her. A few months later, while bathing, Diana notices that her supposed follower is pregnant!

This very scene is portrayed by Titian. But everyone wants to know what happens next!

Diana casts Callisto, who gives birth to Arcas, but is punished again when Juno, Jupiter's wife, finds out about her husband's treachery. She turns Callisto into a bear, and her own son immediately starts hunting her! Well, Jupiter at least managed to send Callisto between the stars, where we can see her as the constellation called The Great Bear (Ursa Major).

The painting is owned by London's National Gallery and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. They bought it together for about 50 million dollars and interchangeably displayed it for five years each. The same is true for the next painting.

Again, Diana and her followers are bathing. Apparently, they are very meticulous about hygiene. Actaeon passes by and surprises nude nymphs who are obviously pissed. Especially Diana, the goddess of hunting. Her revenge is imminent and cruel. Actaeon is transformed into a stag with huge, clumsy antlers. In the blink of an eye, he changed from the hunter into the game.

(You may remember a similar situation from the Grimms' fairy tale Little Brother and Little Sister. But this fairy tale has a happy ending.)

Acteon as a stag doesn't last long.

This painting is the last painting by Titian and can be classified as unfinished. From his correspondence, it seems the master wasn't satisfied with his work and never signed it. It remained in his studio at the moment of his death. Because it was never delivered to King Philip II of Spain, some don't count it as part of the series with the previous six paintings.

Anyway, it depicts the death of poor Actaeon, partially already transformed into a stag, and attacked by Actaeon's own dogs. The presence of Diane is questionable. She has a bow, and it seems she already shot an arrow, but we can't see the arrow, nor a bowstring. Today, the painting hangs in the National Gallery in London.