Venus and the Lute Player
Venus, Again
Titian · c. 1565 to 1570
01
Venice. Around 1565 to 1570.
Venus, with a musician at her feet.
Titian's studio paints it five times.
Two with a lute. This is one.
02
The lute player twists round.
Eyes on her. Not on his strings.
03
Cupid crowns her with flowers.
She has stopped playing.
She's a template. Her outline moved canvas to canvas.
04
Behind them, a shepherd plays.
Nymphs and satyrs dance.
This part, Titian painted himself.
05
A viol leans against the bed.
Blocked in. Never finished.
The whole room.
Uncropped.
“I have chosen in this other poesia to vary the appearance and show the opposite side”
1930
The Earl of Leicester sells it out of Holkham Hall.
The dealer Duveen holds it for six years.
In 1936, the Met buys it.
Titian
Italian · High Renaissance · c. 1488 to 1576
Sources · 5
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