The Visionary Portraiture of Titian

• In Event: Portraiture in Italy

Abstract

At the turn of the sixteenth century, Titian broke with precedent. In a little studied Baptism of Christ (ca. 1514), he placed Giovanni Ram in the immediate foreground below the Rite of Purification. Far from the rigid profiles that previously characterize Veneto donors, Titian’s sentient Ram becomes witness and intercessor to the transcendent event. Though this innovative form of commemoration became a trademark of the Venetian canon, scholars have yet to explain why patrons routinely attend events from the life of Christ. This paper offers the first systematic inquiry into the origin and significance of this iconographic pattern I term the visionary portrait. More than mere likeness, these portraits document the devout in visions drawn from the contemplative guides that inundated Venice amidst Catholic Reform. Recognition of this genre will not only enrich the neglected field of Venetian religion but expand the definition of the sixteenth-century portrait.

Author

• Elizabeth Ann Dwyer, University of Virginia