Art and Art History Collection (Saskia)
The Art and Art History Collection from Saskia Ltd., Cultural Documentation features a wide range of digital images with an emphasis on the history of Western art. There are 3,645 images in this collection. Image sets include: The Dresden Collection, Brueghel and Rubens, Ancient Greek Art (Architecture and Sculpture), Ancient Art (Minoan and Roman), Roman Art, Michelangelo, Italian Renaissance, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Contemporary Architecture. Images from art history textbooks include: Gardner, Expanded Gardner, Stokstad, Gilbert, Hartt, Cunningham, and Reich.
Access note: Only thumbnail images and descriptive information are available to non-USF users. Full access to this collection is available only to authorized users on the USF network on campus or via VPN. For more information or to report technical issues please contact us.
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Danae and the Shower of Gold (detail) Danae with Nursemaid
Unknown
The young Danae, who is accompanied in her bed by a little dog, watches as the rain of coins falls on her, whilst her surprised and greedy servant tries to collect as much as she can in her apron. The whiteness of Danae's body contrasts with the dark and twisted body of the servant; both stand out against the beautiful and almost stormy golden background.
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The Feast in the House of Levi
Unknown
Left portion: Men at table, Landsknechts, and architectural background
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The Feast in the House of Levi
Unknown
Right portion: Men at table, negro servants, architectural background
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The Feast in the House of Levi
Unknown
Detail at left center: Man in green closk with negro boy and dwarf
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The Feast in the House of Levi
Unknown
Detail at right center: fat man in striped tunic with negro man in red
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Equestrian Emperor Charles V at M Emperor Charles V at M
Unknown
Titian took inspiration for the equestrian arrangement of this piece from classic antiquity. It shows the Emperor of the Holy Roman-Germanic Empire as an inspiring symbol of power. It commemorates the battle of Muehlberg, which took place against the protestant troops of John Frederick of Saxony. Titian uses the technique of painting in heavy, dark colors, and emphasized the harsh and noble character of this person. Undoubtedly, a masterpiece.
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Equestrian Emperor Charles V at M Emperor Charles V at M
Unknown
This is one of Titian's most dramatic and monumental portraits, conveying not so much the personality of the sitter as the high ideals of his imperial office. At the Battle of M
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Equestrian Emperor Charles V at M Emperor Charles V at M
Unknown
This portrait commemorates the battle of M
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Garden of Loves (detail) Worship of Venus
Unknown
This canvas was painted by Titian for Alfonso del Este Duke of Ferrara. It was intended to decorate the Duke
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Bacchanal at Andros Bacchanal
Unknown
Both mythological themes were painted for the duke of Ferrara and given to Philip IV as a gift by one of Titian's heirs, much to the consternation of Italian art experts. In this Bacchanal- or feast of Bacchus- Titian illustrates the mythological scene of the arrival of the god of wine to the Isle of Andros.
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Bacchanal at Andros (detail) Bacchanal
Unknown
The isle's inhabitants await Bacchus' arrival -his ship with sails unfurled can be seen in the distance.
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Bacchanal at Andros Bacchanal
Unknown
The colouring and movement of the figures are magnificent; and, of course, the splendid reclining female nude at whose side reels a drunk child.
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Bacchanal at Andros Bacchanal at Andros (detail)
Unknown
The colouring and movement of the figures are magnificent; and, of course, the splendid reclining female nude at whose side reels a drunk child.
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Bacchanal at Andros Bacchanal
Unknown
This painting by Titian is the counterpart of the "Garden of loves" which hangs in the same Museum's hall. Both mythological themes were painted for the duke of Ferrara and given to Philip IV as a gift by one of Titian's heirs, much to the consternation of Italian art experts. In this Bacchanal- or feast of Bacchus- Titian illustrates the mythological scene of the arrival of the god of wine to the Isle of Andros, dedicated to him since the rivers ran with wine instead of water. The isle's inhabitants await Bacchus' arrival -his ship with sails unfurled can be seen in the distance. The colouring and movement of the figures are magnificent.
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Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
This tondo shows to what extent Domenico learned the lesson of Gentile da Fabriano. In a similar way to the Strozzi Altarpiece, the traditional subject is depicted as a chivalric or courtly scene, crowded with characters wearing rich and elegant costumes, all described down to the smallest details. This detailed description, which is evident in the landscape as well, and the presence of hunting motifs are the result of the influence northern painting exerted on Domenico. The Berlin tondo is one of the works that demonstrates most clearly the fundamental influences on Domenico's art.
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Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
This tondo shows to what extent Domenico learned the lesson of Gentile da Fabriano. In a similar way to the Strozzi Altarpiece, the traditional subject is depicted as a chivalric or courtly scene, crowded with characters wearing rich and elegant costumes, all described down to the smallest details. This detailed description, which is evident in the landscape as well, and the presence of hunting motifs are the result of the influence northern painting exerted on Domenico. The Berlin tondo is one of the works that demonstrates most clearly the fundamental influences on Domenico's art.
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Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
This tondo shows to what extent Domenico learned the lesson of Gentile da Fabriano. In a similar way to the Strozzi Altarpiece, the traditional subject is depicted as a chivalric or courtly scene, crowded with characters wearing rich and elegant costumes, all described down to the smallest details. This detailed description, which is evident in the landscape as well, and the presence of hunting motifs are the result of the influence northern painting exerted on Domenico. The Berlin tondo is one of the works that demonstrates most clearly the fundamental influences on Domenico's art.
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Cupid Carving His Bow (detail)
Unknown
The painting is a good example of the Mannerist tendencies in the art of Parmigianino. His works are distinguished by ambiguity of spatial composition, by distortion and elongation of the human figure, and by the pursuit of what the art historian Vasari called
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Cupid Carving His Bow (detail)
Unknown
The painting is a good example of the Mannerist tendencies in the art of Parmigianino. His works are distinguished by ambiguity of spatial composition, by distortion and elongation of the human figure, and by the pursuit of what the art historian Vasari called
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Portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi (detail)
Unknown
Official portraitist at the Medici court of Cosimo I, Bronzino paintedportraits of members of Florentine aristocracy. In this picture Panciatichi is around thirty years old, austere and proud, sitting before his family palace, whose coat of arm appears on the right. Here the influence of Parmigianino may be obvious, in the elongated figure and the vigorous line which creates broken surfaces on the sleeves of Bartolomeo Panciatichi. The imposing, idealized structure behind the portrait refers to fifteenth-century styles, while the lucid surfaces of colour define once again all the ideal and intellectual splendour of this man of the court: a work, therefore, totally in keeping with the taste and mentality of the Florentine painter.
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Crucifixion (Panel from the Pisa Altar) (detail) Pisa Polyptych (one of eleven panels)
Unknown
On February 19th 1426 Masaccio agreed to paint an altarpiece for a chapel in the church of the Carmine in Pisa for the sum of 80 florins. On December 26th of that year the work must have been already completed since payment for it is recorded on this date. Vasari gave a detailed description of the work which was the basis for art critics for the attempt at reconstruction and for the recovery and identification of the work which was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Only eleven pieces have so far come to light and they are not sufficient to enable a reliable reconstruction of the whole work. The Crucifixion is one of the eleven panels connected with the Pisa Polyptych.
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Crucifixion (Panel from the Pisa Altar) (detail) Pisa Polyptych (one of eleven panels)
Unknown
On February 19th 1426 Masaccio agreed to paint an altarpiece for a chapel in the church of the Carmine in Pisa for the sum of 80 florins. On December 26th of that year the work must have been already completed since payment for it is recorded on this date. Vasari gave a detailed description of the work which was the basis for art critics for the attempt at reconstruction and for the recovery and identification of the work which was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Only eleven pieces have so far come to light and they are not sufficient to enable a reliable reconstruction of the whole work. The Crucifixion is one of the eleven panels connected with the Pisa Polyptych.
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Crucifixion (Panel from the Pisa Altar) (detail) Pisa Polyptych (one of eleven panels)
Unknown
On February 19th 1426 Masaccio agreed to paint an altarpiece for a chapel in the church of the Carmine in Pisa for the sum of 80 florins. On December 26th of that year the work must have been already completed since payment for it is recorded on this date. Vasari gave a detailed description of the work which was the basis for art critics for the attempt at reconstruction and for the recovery and identification of the work which was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Only eleven pieces have so far come to light and they are not sufficient to enable a reliable reconstruction of the whole work. The Crucifixion is one of the eleven panels connected with the Pisa Polyptych.
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The Pieta (detail) Dead Christ Supported by the Madonna and St John (Piet
Unknown
The figures stand out against a leaden dreamlike sky. The painting retains a strong Paduan element that is evident in the contours, adjusting gestures and figures to the strong expressive requirements of the drama. The silent exchange of emotions in the faces is reflected in the masterly play of the hands. The landscape behind them, empty and metallic in the cold, shining greys of the painful dawn of rebirth, accentuates the sense of the scene's anguish. Both the Donatello of the altar of St Anthony of Padua and, once again, Mantegna and the Flemish masters are the influences which spurred Bellini along the path of a sad and bitter pathos.
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The Pieta (detail) Dead Christ Supported by the Madonna and St John (Piet
Unknown
A passionate feeling that is not so much religious as human and psychological pervades the actors in the drama. The rendering of grief has here its most universal expression and, at the same time, its most private and conscious dimension. The mother's pathetic gesture is reflected in St John's turning away. The construction of the work shows careful thought. The figures, borrowed from popular imagery, are grouped in the foreground against an infinite horizon. The pentagonal arm of Christ ending in a closed fist is that of a fallen but un vanquished athlete.
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The St. Lucy Altarpiece (detail)
Unknown
The work, signed and dating around 1445, comes from the Florentine church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli and shows the Madonna enthroned with Child among the saints (left to right) Francis, John the Baptist (whose face is the self-portrait of the painter), Zenobius and Lucy. This sacra conversazione is placed in a completely Renaissance architectural setting, where the perspective study get perfection with the foreshortening of the floor. The natural light and the absence of gold on the backgrond of the picture, make this altarpiece one of the first achievements of the new Renaissance art.
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The St. Lucy Altarpiece (detail) Santa Lucia dei Magnoli's Altarpiece
Unknown
The work, signed and dating around 1445, comes from the Florentine church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli and shows the Madonna enthroned with Child among the saints (left to right) Francis, John the Baptist (whose face is the self-portrait of the painter), Zenobius and Lucy. This sacra conversazione is placed in a completely Renaissance architectural setting, where the perspective study get perfection with the foreshortening of the floor. The natural light and the absence of gold on the backgrond of the picture, make this altarpiece one of the first achievements of the new Renaissance art.
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The St. Lucy Altarpiece (detail)
Unknown
The work, signed and dating around 1445, comes from the Florentine church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli and shows the Madonna enthroned with Child among the saints (left to right) Francis, John the Baptist (whose face is the self-portrait of the painter), Zenobius and Lucy. This sacra conversazione is placed in a completely Renaissance architectural setting, where the perspective study get perfection with the foreshortening of the floor. The natural light and the absence of gold on the backgrond of the picture, make this altarpiece one of the first achievements of the new Renaissance art.
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The St. Lucy Altarpiece (detail) Santa Lucia dei Magnoli's Altarpiece
Unknown
The work, signed and dating around 1445, comes from the Florentine church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli and shows the Madonna enthroned with Child among the saints (left to right) Francis, John the Baptist (whose face is the self-portrait of the painter), Zenobius and Lucy. This sacra conversazione is placed in a completely Renaissance architectural setting, where the perspective study get perfection with the foreshortening of the floor. The natural light and the absence of gold on the backgrond of the picture, make this altarpiece one of the first achievements of the new Renaissance art.
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The St. Lucy Altarpiece
Unknown
The work, signed and dating around 1445, comes from the Florentine church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli and shows the Madonna enthroned with Child among the saints (left to right) Francis, John the Baptist (whose face is the self-portrait of the painter), Zenobius and Lucy. This sacra conversazione is placed in a completely Renaissance architectural setting, where the perspective study get perfection with the foreshortening of the floor. The natural light and the absence of gold on the backgrond of the picture, make this altarpiece one of the first achievements of the new Renaissance art.
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The Annunciation (detail)
Unknown
Faithfully adhering to the Florentine tradition, Alessio Baldovinetti made refined use of a clear, almost sharp line, together with a great curiosity for the tiniest details. In this work, note the slender elegance of the Madonna, whose traditional gesture of reverent surprise at the angel's announcement has been replaced by an almost mannered pose, worthy of some worldly ritual. The artist attempts a perspective view by setting the scene under a portico, thus creating a background plane with the tops of the trees that can be seen above the surrounding wall.
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The Annunciation (detail)
Unknown
Faithfully adhering to the Florentine tradition, Alessio Baldovinetti made refined use of a clear, almost sharp line, together with a great curiosity for the tiniest details. In this work, note the slender elegance of the Madonna, whose traditional gesture of reverent surprise at the angel's announcement has been replaced by an almost mannered pose, worthy of some worldly ritual. The artist attempts a perspective view by setting the scene under a portico, thus creating a background plane with the tops of the trees that can be seen above the surrounding wall.
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Deposition from the Cross (detail)
Unknown
This is one of Fra Angelico's most profound works. Hushed, respectful, and completely devout, the assembled figures present a scene that equates clarity of form, purity of colour, and rationally conceived proportions with transcendent spirituality. The mode of expression is dignified, rational, and human.
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Deposition from the Cross (detail)
Unknown
This is one of Fra Angelico's most profound works. Hushed, respectful, and completely devout, the assembled figures present a scene that equates clarity of form, purity of colour, and rationally conceived proportions with transcendent spirituality. The mode of expression is dignified, rational, and human.
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Deposition from the Cross (detail)
Unknown
This is one of Fra Angelico's most profound works. Hushed, respectful, and completely devout, the assembled figures present a scene that equates clarity of form, purity of colour, and rationally conceived proportions with transcendent spirituality. The mode of expression is dignified, rational, and human.
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Duke and Duchess of Urbino Reverse: Triumphal Procession Allegorical Triumph of Federico da Mantefeltro and Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino
Unknown
On the front the two panels show profile portraits of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and his wife, Battista Sforza. The reverse shows allegorical representations of their virtues. During the 1460s the artist worked for the Duke of Urbino, for whom he executed the Flagellation of Christ and the Senigallia Madonna, the wonderful twin portrait of the Duke and his wife Battista Sforza (Florence, Uffizi), the Nativity, and above all the incomparable Pala Montefeltro, which by some critics is considered to be his best work, which epitomizes the noblest aspirations of Early Renaissance.
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Portrait of a Man Holding a Medallion of Cosimo de'Medici (detail) Anonymous portrait : Portrait of a Man with the Medal of Cosmo the Elder
Unknown
This beautiful painting includes a double portrait, revealing a certain link between the unknown young man and the Medici family. The medal he keeps in his hands shows in fact Cosimo the Elder in profile: it is a gilt plaster mould glued on the wood, it is derived from a gold posthumously medal coined between 1465 and 1469 in honour of Cosimo de' Medici. The portrait is an early work by Botticelli; he set the man in the open against a fascinating desolate landscape recalling Flemish paintings.
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Madonna of the Magnificat (detail) Magnificat Madonna
Unknown
With this famous tondo Botticelli represented the Madonna with Child and five angels, in a beautiful composition that emphasize the circular form of the picture. In front of the Virgin there is the book open at the page containing the Magnificat, while two angels are putting on her head a star crown.
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Madonna of the Magnificat (detail) Magnificat Madonna
Unknown
With this famous tondo Botticelli represented the Madonna with Child and five angels, in a beautiful composition that emphasize the circular form of the picture. In front of the Virgin there is the book open at the page containing the Magnificat, while two angels are putting on her head a star crown.
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Madonna of the Magnificat Magnificat Madonna
Unknown
With this famous tondo Botticelli represented the Madonna with Child and five angels, in a beautiful composition that emphasize the circular form of the picture. In front of the Virgin there is the book open at the page containing the Magnificat, while two angels are putting on her head a star crown. The Madonna of the Magnificat is named after the song of praise which Mary sings the first chapter of Luke. When the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is pregnant with Jesus, he also tells her that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, has also been divinely impregnated with a special child, John the Baptist. Mary hastens to Elizabeth's house and is greeted by her thus.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
If in this picture clearly emerges the persistence of International Gothic at the beginning of 15th Century, in the meanwhile the panel is ahead of its time showing in the predella's scenes Nativity.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
Gentile da Fabriano's painting is not a geometrically constructed composition. It should be read as if it were the text of a tale, beginning at the top left corner. If we follow the King;s course among sloping hills and cultivated fields we can see how they march into Jerusalem.
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Rest during the Flight into Egypt The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
This is the central scene of the predella on the large altarpiece "Adoration of the Magi".
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
Palla di Noferi Strozzi commissioned this famous altarpiece, signed and dated 1423 on the frame, for his family's chapel in the church of Santa Trinita in Florence. Wealth and culture of the donor are reflected in the lavish use of gold and in the pomp of the Magi procession, including also exotic animals as leopards and monkeys. If in this picture clearly emerges the persistence of International Gothic at the beginning of 15th Century, in the meanwhile the panel is ahead of its time showing in the predella's scenes Nativity, Rest during the Flight into Egypt and Presentation to the Temple) one of the basic innovations of Renaissance art: the blue sky at the place of the traditional gold background.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
Gentile da Fabriano's painting is not a geometrically constructed composition. It should be read as if it were the text of a tale, beginning at the top left corner, where the three Magi, meeting at the seaside, notice the star they have to follow. If we follow their course among sloping hills and cultivated fields we can see how they march into Jerusalem under the frame of the central arch, while in the lunette on the right we can see them departing.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
Now we can discern the faces too, and observe the smallest details of garments, arms and harness. Then the crowd, which can pride itself on hunters, noble chargers and exotic animals too, stops at the right-hand corner of the foreground, having reached its destination.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
The banker Palla Strozzi, who commissioned the work, had himself portrayed with his son immediately behind the youngest king. It is not just the magnificent decoration of the work and the exotic animals which refer to the courtly culture; the kneeling squire fastening the spur of the king presenting his gift is also a chivalrous motif.
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The Adoration of the Magi (detail)
Unknown
The banker Palla Strozzi, who commissioned the work, had himself portrayed with his son immediately behind the youngest king. It is not just the magnificent decoration of the work and the exotic animals which refer to the courtly culture; the kneeling squire fastening the spur of the king presenting his gift is also a chivalrous motif.
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The Adoration of the Magi
Unknown
Wealth and culture of the donor are reflected in the lavish use of gold and in the pomp of the Magi procession, including also exotic animals as leopards and monkeys. If in this picture clearly emerges the persistence of International Gothic at the beginning of 15th Century, in the meanwhile the panel is ahead of its time showing in the predella's scenes Nativity, Rest during the Flight into Egypt and Presentation to the Temple) one of the basic innovations of Renaissance art: the blue sky at the place of the traditional gold background
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Danae (detail)
Unknown
At 1545 Titian accepted the invitation of the Pope's nephew, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and went to Rome. He carried with him the remarkable Danae (now in Naples), painted for Ottavio Farnese, which he had completed shortly before his departure. This work constitutes the clearest evidence of a stylistic change of direction in Titian's painting at this time.
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Danae (detail)
Unknown
This work constitutes the clearest evidence of a stylistic change of direction in Titian's painting at this time.It is clear that a work such as this Danae could never have been fully appreciated in the artistic climate of contemporary Rome. Indeed, Vasari recounts how the great Michelangelo went to pay his respects to Titian in his rooms and, having seen the Danae, praised its "colouring and style". On leaving the painter's house, however, Michelangelo could not resist adding that "it was a shame that in Venice they did not learn to draw well from the beginning and that those painters did not pursue their studies with more method."
