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| Titian Spain Succoring Religion at the Battle of Lepanto 1572-75 Prado |
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| Titian King Philip II and the Infante Don Fernando after the Battle of Lepanto 1573-75 Prado |
Titian (ca. 1485-1576) was the first Venetian artist with a following of international patrons willing and able to pay super-premium prices for access to autograph work with the master's unique compositions executed to specification. (What was later said of Luca Giordano could equally well have been said of Titian – "He used three brushes – one of gold to satisfy the nobility, one of silver for private citizens, and one of copper for the populace.") Both the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II, King of Spain, eagerly belonged to the special category of highest-paying and most demanding patron. Their passion for majestic presentations of themselves ended by securing more of these premium Titians for Madrid than for anywhere else in the world except Venice itself.
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| Titian Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg 1548 Prado |
The Spanish Tintorettos also seen here were not, by contrast, painted for international patrons Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) and his son Domenico (1560-1635) belonged to succeeding generations of Venetian painters who followed Titian, imitating his manner but largely limited for clients to local aristocrats. The Tintoretto canvases now in Madrid were typically purchased in Italy – after passing through the hands of Italian owners – by agents who shipped batches of such pictures to Spain.
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| Jacopo Tintoretto Portrait of a Venetian Admiral c. 1570-75 Prado |
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| Jacopo Tintoretto Portrait of a man 16th century Prado |
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| Titian Knight of Malta c. 1550 Prado |
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| Jacopo Tintoretto Draped figure late 16th century drawing Prado |
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| Jacopo Tintoretto Portrait of Marco Grimani c. 1576-83 Prado |
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| Titian Sisyphus 1548-49 Prado |
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| Titian Self-portrait c. 1562 Prado |
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| Titian Christ & Simon the Cyrenian c. 1560 Prado |
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| Titian Christ & Simon the Cyrenian c. 1565 Prado |
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| Domenico Tintoretto Mythological Figure late 16th century Prado |
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| Domenico Tintoretto Allegory of Virtue late 16th century Prado |
I am grateful for the beautiful reproductions made available by Museo del Prado.