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Date : 1533
Material : Oil on canvas
| Item 10 on 12
European Painting
Painting
Area related
Bologne (Italy)
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| Description |  |
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This masterful painting marks the inception of an influential and enduring portrait type, the standing state portrait. The most significant artist of Renaissance Venice and the greatest portraitist of the sixteenth century, Titian enjoyed fame across Europe and was widely courted by the leading political, military, and intellectual figures of his era. His eminence, brilliantly exemplified by this portrait, rested on Titian's ability to imbue his sitters with profound psychological complexity while retaining the awe and grandeur appropriate to their position.
Alfonso d'Avalos (1502-1546) led pivotal military campaigns against France and Turkey, eventually ruling Milan and serving as commander general of Italy under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. raised in the lively, intellectual court of Naples, which included his aunt, the poet Vittoria Colonna, Avalos also became a leading patron of High Renaissance literary and artistic culture. While cladding the sitter in spectacular armor, Titian moved beyond this commanding authority to convey the emotional depth, intelligence, and grace of Avalos. Titian demonstrated the vast range of his remarkable technique in this work, combining passages of thick pigment with subtle layers of thin glazes and treating a wide variety of surfaces with sensitivity and ease.
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