Portrait of the Vendramin Family
Portrait of the Vendramin Family | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Artist | Titian |
Year | Early 1540s |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 185 cm × 202 cm (73 in × 80 in) |
Location | National Gallery, London |
The Vendramin Family Venerating a Relic of the True Cross (also, Portrait of the Vendramin Family) is a large painting by the 16th century Venetian master Titian and his workshop, executed in the early 1540s, and now in the National Gallery in London.[1]
The canvas was commissioned by the patrician Vendramin family, and portrays, as was the typical Venetian custom, only male members of the dynasty.[2] It includes the brothers Andrea and Gabriele Vendramin, and Andrea's seven sons. However Andrea was apparently only three years older than Gabriele, which one would not think from the two figures here. It remains uncertain which is which.[3] The three young boys kneeling on the left were added later by another artist, and are markedly lower in quality.
The figures are next an altar holding a reliquary of the True Cross, which still exists. This was connected with a miracle in 1370-82 depicted by Vittorio Carpaccio, Gentile Bellini and other artists - when accidentally dropped into a canal during a congested procession it did not sink but hovered over the water, evading others trying to help, until an earlier Andrea Vendramin dived in and retrieved it.[4] This Andrea had been presented with the relic in 1369, in his capacity as head of the confraternity or Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista; they still hold the relc and its reliquary.[5] Both the large Bellini painting, The Miracle of the True Cross near San Lorenzo Bridge, of 1496–1500,[1], and the Carpaccio of 1494, are now in the Accademia museum in Venice.
Titian's painting has been described as, "one of the greatest group portraits in history".[2] It balances youth and wisdom as well as demonstrating the power of this family and their public commitments to the Republic. The relic is a central part of the portrait and was seen as both a symbol of the Serene Republic, and a personal symbol for the Vendramin family.
The painting was clearly designed for a specific location, presumably in one of the various Vendramin palaces in Venice, perhaps on a stairway. The lighting and very low vanishing point suggest that the primary viewing point was anticipated to be at the left of the canvas, with the lower edge at about head height.[6]
History
This painting remained in Venice until at least 1636 when it was bought by Anthony van Dyck who was painter at the court of Charles I.[2] After his death it was claimed as the property of Lady Anne Middleton by her son, Sir John Wittewronge.[7] After claiming possession Sir John sold the painting to Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, one of Van Dyck's major patrons, and passed by descent through the Earls and Dukes of Northumberland and Somerset until 1929, when it was bought by the National Gallery.[8] At some point it has been cut down on both sides and at the bottom.[9]
See also
References
- ^ The longer title is Penny's; in 2017 the NG website just calls in Vendramin Family. Penny, 210-211 for the dating.
- ^ a b c Jones, Jonathan (20 October 2001), "Portrait of the week: Vendramin Family, Titian (1543–7)", The Guardian, London, retrieved 21 December 2009
- ^ Gould, 286, who seems to favour Gabriele as the standing figure.
- ^ JSTOR The Miraculous Cross in Titian's "Vendramin Family", Philip Pouncey, Journal of the Warburg Institute, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jan., 1939), pp. 191-193
- ^ Penny, 215-218; Gould, 285
- ^ Penny, 211
- ^ Brown, Christopher; Ramsay, Nigel (1990). "Van Dyck's Collection: Some New Documents". The Burlington Magazine. 132 (1051): 704–709. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 884472.
- ^ Gould, 286
- ^ Gould, 284
Sources
- Gould, Cecil (1975). The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools. London: National Gallery Catalogues. ISBN 0-947645-22-5.
- Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues (new series): The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Volume II, Venice 1540–1600, 2008, National Gallery Publications Ltd, ISBN 1857099133
External links
- National Gallery
- v
- t
- e
- Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter (1503–1506)
- A Man with a Quilted Sleeve (c. 1509)
- La Schiavona (1510–1512)
- A Man
- New York, c. 1512)
- (Indianapolis, c. 1515
- Shepherd with a Flute (c. 1510–1515)
- A Man in a Red Cap (c. 1510–1515)
- A Sick Man (1515)
- Jacopo Sannazaro (c. 1514–1518)
- Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma (c. 1515)
- A Knight of Malta (c. 1515)
- Vincenzo Mosti (c. 1520)
- Young Woman in a Black Dress (c. 1520)
- Man with a Glove (c. 1520)
- Laura Dianti (c. 1520–1525)
- Alfonso I d'Este (1523)
- A Lady (c. 1525–1565)
- Federico II Gonzaga (c. 1529)
- Giacomo di Andrea Dolfin (c. 1531–1532)
- Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page (1533)
- Charles V with a Dog (1533)
- Ippolito de' Medici (1532–1533)
- Giacomo Doria (1533–1535)
- Charles V (1533–1535)
- Isabella d'Este (1534–1536)
- La Bella (1536)
- Girl in a Fur (1536–1538)
- Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera (c. 1535–1540)
- A Man with a Falcon (c. 1537)
- Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (1538)
- Francesco Maria della Rovere (1538)
- Cardinal Pietro Bembo (1539–1540)
- Benedetto Varchi (c. 1540)
- Pope Sixtus IV (c. 1540)
- A Young Englishman (1540–1545)
- Ranuccio Farnese (c. 1542)
- Clarissa Strozzi (1542)
- The Vendramin Family (1543–1547)
- Pietro Aretino (1545)
- Lavinia Vecellio (c. 1545)
- Pope Paul III (1545–1546)
- Pope Paul III Wearing a Camauro (1545–1546)
- Pope Paul III and His Grandsons (1545–1546)
- Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1545–1546)
- Pier Luigi Farnese (1546)
- Andrea Gritti (c. 1546–1550)
- Charles V (on horseback) (1548)
- Charles V (seated) (1548)
- Isabella of Portugal (1548)
- John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (c. 1550–1551)
- A General (c. 1550)
- Philip II in Armour (1551)
- Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1552)
- Philip II (1554)
- Woman Holding an Apple (c. 1550–1555)
- Christina of Denmark (1555–1556)
- Girl with a Platter of Fruit (c. 1555–1558)
- Fabrizio Salvaresio (1558)
- An Unknown Lady (c. 1550–1560 – also attributed to Titian's workshop)
- Jacopo Strada (1567–1568)
- A Lady in White (c. 1561)
- Self-Portrait (1546–1547)
- Self-Portrait (c. 1560)
- Detroit Trio (c. 1500 – also attributed to Giorgione and others)
- The Birth of Adonis (c. 1506–1508)
- The Legend of Polydoros (c. 1506–1508)
- Justice (c. 1508)
- Pastoral Concert (c. 1509 – also attributed to Giorgione)
- Dresden Venus (with Giorgione, c. 1510)
- The Lovers (c. 1510 – attributed)
- The Three Ages of Man (c. 1512–1514)
- Sacred and Profane Love (c. 1514)
- The Feast of the Gods (1514)
- Venus and Cupid (1510–1515)
- Lucretia and her Husband (1515)
- The Bravo (c. 1515)
- Flora (c. 1515)
- Vanity (c. 1515)
- Violante (c. 1515)
- Woman with a Mirror (c. 1515)
- The Worship of Venus (1518–19)
- Venus Anadyomene (c. 1520)
- Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523)
- The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1523–1526)
- Allegory of Marriage (c. 1530–1535)
- Eleven Caesars (1536–1540)
- Venus of Urbino (1538)
- Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops (1540)
- Venus and Musician (several versions, 1540s–1570s)
- Tityus (1549)
- Sisyphus (1549)
- Danaë (several versions; 1543–1565)
- Venus and Adonis (several versions)
- Mars, Venus and Amor (c. 1550)
- Pardo Venus (1551)
- Venus with a Mirror (1555)
- Perseus and Andromeda (1554–1556)
- Diana and Actaeon (1556–1559)
- Diana and Callisto (1556–1559)
- The Death of Actaeon (c. 1559–1575)
- The Rape of Europa (c. 1560–1562)
- The Concert (c. 1543–1564)
- Venus Blindfolding Cupid (c. 1565)
- Allegory of Prudence (c. 1565–1570)
- Nymph and Shepherd (c. 1570)
- Tarquin and Lucretia (comp. 1571)
- Flaying of Marsyas (1570–1576)
- Christ Carrying the Cross (c. 1505 – also attributed to Giorgione)
- Bache Madonna (c. 1508)
- Flight into Egypt (c. 1508)
- Lochis Madonna (1508–1510)
- Saint Mark Enthroned (c. 1510)
- The Gypsy Madonna (c. 1510)
- Holy Family with a Shepherd (c. 1510)
- Christ and the Adulteress
- Glasgow, c. 1510)
- (Vienna, c. 1520
- Virgin and Child Between Saints Anthony of Padua and Roch (c. 1511)
- The Resurrected Christ (c. 1511–12)
- Baptism of Christ (c. 1512)
- Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Paris; c. 1510–1525)
- Miracle of the Jealous Husband (1511)
- Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1512)
- Balbi Holy Conversation (c. 1513)
- Noli me tangere (c. 1514)
- The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (c. 1512–1514; c. 1540–1545)
- Salome
- Rome, c. 1515)
- (Madrid, c. 1550)
- (Private, c. 1570
- Madonna of the Cherries (1515)
- The Tribute Money (c. 1516)
- Assumption of the Virgin (1516–1518)
- The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy (1516–1518)
- Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Unidentified Saint (c. 1515–1520)
- Madonna and Child with Four Saints (c. 1516–1520)
- Pesaro Madonna (1519–1526)
- Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot, Jerome and Francis (c. 1519)
- Gozzi Altarpiece (1520)
- Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Vienna; c. 1520)
- Malchiostro Annunciation (c. 1520)
- The Entombment of Christ (c. 1520)
- Averoldi Polyptych (1520–1522)
- Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (1525)
- The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1529)
- Aldobrandini Madonna (1530)
- Madonna of the Rabbit (1530)
- Madonna of the Roses (c. 1530)
- Penitent Magdalene (1531)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1531)
- Pilgrims at Emmaus (c. 1533–1534)
- Supper at Emmaus (c. 1534; c. 1545)
- The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple (1534–1538)
- Saint John the Baptist (1540)
- Sciarra Madonna (c. 1540)
- The Crowning with Thorns (1542–43)
- Ecce Homo
- Vienna, 1543
- David and Goliath (c. 1542–1544)
- Abraham and Isaac (c. 1543–1544)
- Cain and Abel (c. 1543–1545)
- Serravalle Altarpiece (1548)
- Castello Roganzuolo Altarpiece (1549)
- The Fall of Man (c. 1550)
- Penitent Magdalene (c. 1550)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1552)
- The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (c. 1548–1559)
- La Gloria (1554)
- Christ Appearing to his Mother after his Resurrection (1554)
- Mater Dolorosa (c. 1555)
- Saint Jerome in Penitence (1575)
- Crucifixion (1558)
- The Entombment (1559)
- Saint Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1559)
- Annunciation (1559–1564)
- Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1560)
- Penitent Magdalene (1565)
- Saint Dominic (c. 1565)
- Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c. 1570)
- Religion saved by Spain (1572–1575)
- Saint Sebastian (c. 1575)
- The Crowning with Thorns (1576)
- Pietà (1576)