Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art | Page 5

Madrid, painted for King Philip II., when prince of
Spain, and about the period of his marriage with Queen Mary of
England. There is a fine duplicate of this picture in the English
National Gallery, another in the Dulwich gallery, and two or three more
in the private collections of England. Ottley thus describes this
picture:--
"The figure of Venus, which is seen in a back view, receives the
principal light, and is without drapery, save that a white veil, which
hangs from her shoulder, spreads itself over the right knee. The chief
parts of this figure are scarcely less excellent in respect of form than of
coloring. The head possesses great beauty, and is replete with natural
expression. The fair hair of the goddess, collected into a braid rolled up
at the back of her head, is entwined by a string of pearls, which, from
their whiteness, give value to the delicate carnation of her figure. She
throws her arms, impassioned, around her lover, who, resting with his
right hand upon his javelin, and holding with the left the traces which
confine his dogs, looks upon her unmoved by her solicitations, and

impatient to repair to the chase. Cupid, meantime, is seen sleeping at
some distance off, under the shadow of a group of lofty trees, from one
of which are suspended his bow and quiver; a truly poetic thought, by
which, it is scarcely necessary to add, the painter intended to signify
that the blandishments and caresses of beauty, unaided by love, may be
exerted in vain. In the coloring, this picture unites the greatest possible
richness and depth of tone, with that simplicity and sobriety of
character which Sir Joshua Reynolds so strongly recommends in his
lectures, as being the best adapted to the higher kinds of painting. The
habit of the goddess, on which she sits, is of crimson velvet, a little
inclining to purple, and ornamented with an edging of gold lace, which
is, however, so subdued in tone as not to look gaudy, its lining being of
a delicate straw color, touched here and there with a slight glazing of
lake. The dress of Adonis, also, is crimson, but of a somewhat warmer
hue. There is little or no blue in the sky, which is covered with clouds,
and but a small proportion of it on the distant hills; the effect altogether
appearing, to be the result of a very simple principle of arrangement in
the coloring, namely, that of excluding almost all cold tints from the
illuminated parts of the picture."
TITIAN AND THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.
One of the most pleasant things recorded in the life of Titian, is the
long and intimate friendship that subsisted between him and the great
and good Emperor Charles V., whose name is known in history as one
of the wisest and best sovereigns of Europe. According to Vasari,
Titian, when he was first recommended to the notice of the Emperor by
Pietro Aretino, was in deep poverty, though his name was then known
all over Italy. Charles, who appreciated, and knew how to assist genius
without wounding its delicacy, employed Titian to paint his portrait, for
which he munificently rewarded him. He afterwards invited him to
Madrid in the most pressing and flattering terms, where he was
received with extraordinary honors. He was appointed gentleman of the
Emperor's bed-chamber, that he might be near his person; Charles also
conferred upon him the order of St. Jago, and made him a Count
Palatine of the empire. He did not grace the great artist with splendid
titles and decorations only, but showed him more solid marks of his

favor, by be stowing upon him life-rents in Naples and Milan of two
hundred ducats each, besides a munificent compensation for each
picture. These honors and favors were, doubtless, doubly gratifying to
Titian, as coming from a prince who was not only a lover of the fine
arts, but an excellent connoisseur. "The Emperor," says Palomino,
"having learned drawing in his youth, examined pictures and prints
with all the keenness of an artist; and he much astonished Æneas Vicus
of Parma, by the searching scrutiny that he bestowed on a print of his
own portrait, which that famous engraver had submitted to his eye."
Stirling, in his Annals of Spanish Artists, says, that of no prince are
recorded more sayings which show a refined taste and a quick eye. He
told the Burghers of Antwerp that, "the light and soaring spire of their
cathedral deserved to be put under a glass case." He called Florence
"the Queen of the Arno, decked for a perpetual holiday." He regretted
that he had given his consent for the conversion of the famous mosque
of Abderahman at Cordova into a cathedral, when he saw what