s2e12 History of Prints The Italians (Titian)

In episode 12, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig discuss the titan of Venetian painting, Titian, who happened to also make prints. Plus Ann and Tru take a deep dive into the epic first book of anatomy, Vesalius' On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1543. It turns out Titian had a hand in some of the woodcut illustrations in it.

Episode image: page from Andreas Vesalius (Italian, 1514–1564). De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). Padua: School of Medicine, 1543. (Photo: museoteca.com) https://museoteca.com/r/en/work/5782/andreas_vesalius/de_humani_corporis_fabrica_on_the_fabric_of_the_human_body_/!/

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576) and Giovanni Bellini (Venetian, c. 1430/1435–1516). The Feast of the Gods, 1514/1529. Oil on canvas. 170.2 x 188 cm (67 x 74 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Danaë, 1551–53. Oil on canvas. 187 x 204.5 cm (73 5/8 x 80 1/2 in.). The Wellington Collection, Apsley House, London.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Venus and Adonis, c. 1553–54. Oil on canvas. 186 x 207 cm (73 1/4 x 81 1/2 in.). Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Diana and Acteon, 1556–59. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London, and National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Diana and Callisto, 1556–59. Oil on canvas. 187 x 204.5 cm (73 5/8 x 80 1/2 in.). The National Gallery, London, and National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). The Rape of Europa, 1559–62. Oil on canvas. 178 x 205 cm (70 1/16 x 80 11/16 in.). Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Perseus and Andromeda, c. 1554–56. Oil on canvas. 230 x 243 cm (90 9/16 x 95 11/16 in.). The Wallace Collection, London.

Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1470–1532), after Titian (Italian, 1489/90–1576). St Jerome in the desert seated facing left, c. 1516. Chiaroscuro woodcut with two color blocks in green. Sheet: 156 x 95 mm. British Museum, London.

Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Venice : Aldus Manutius, 1499.

Jacopo de’ Barbari (Venetian, c. 1460–1516). Bird’s eye view of Venice from the south, 1500. Woodcut printed from 6 blocks. 134 x 281 cm. (52 ¼ x 110 ½ in.). British Museum, London.

[DETAIL] Jacopo de’ Barbari (Venetian, c. 1460–1516). Bird’s eye view of Venice from the south, 1500. Woodcut printed from 6 blocks. 134 x 281 cm. (52 ¼ x 110 ½ in.). British Museum, London.

[DETAIL] Jacopo de’ Barbari (Venetian, c. 1460–1516). Bird’s eye view of Venice from the south, 1500. Woodcut printed from 6 blocks. 134 x 281 cm. (52 ¼ x 110 ½ in.). British Museum, London.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I, 1515. Woodcut, 195 woodblocks printed on 36 sheets of large folio paper. Overall size: 354 x 298.5 cm (139 3/8 x 117 1/2 in.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). The Triumphal Chariot of Maximilian I, 1523. Eight woodcuts joined. Sheet: 53.02 × 233.76 cm (20 7/8 × 92 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Master of the Die (Italian, active c. 1530–c. 1560), after Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520). Transfiguration, c. 1530. Engraving on blue paper. Sheet: 404 × 322 mm. (15 7/8 × 12 11/16 in.). Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.

Master of the Die (Italian, active c. 1530–c. 1560), after Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520). Transfiguration, c. 1530. Engraving. Sheet: 15 9/16 x 12 in. (395 x 305 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Triumphal Procession of Christ, 1510–1511. Ten woodcuts joined. 47 x 271 cm. (18 1/2 x 106 ½). British Museum, London.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). The Submersion of Pharaoh’s Army in the Red Sea, 1514–15, printed 1549. Twelve woodcuts joined. 40 x 55 cm (15 3/4 x 21 5/8 in.). Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Pesaro Madonna, 1519–26. Oil on canvas. 4.88 × 2.69 m. (16 × 8.8 ft). Pesaro Chapel, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Assumption of the Virgin, 1516–18. Oil on panel. 690 × 360 cm. (270 × 140 in.). Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490–1576). Christ Crowned with Thorns, 1542–43. Oil on canvas. 180 x 303 cm. (119 ¼ x 70 ¾ in.). Louvre, Paris.

Imago Mortis (Dance of Death) from the Nuremburg Chronicle, c. 1493. Woodcut. Cornell University Library, Ithaca, New York.

Tru Ludwig (American, born 1959). Three Graces, 2000. Woodcut. 36 x 48 in.

Tru Ludwig (American, born 1959). The Exposure of Luxury, 2012. Woodcut. 48 x 33.

Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, late 1470s–early 1480s. Tempera on panel. 202 × 314 cm. (80 × 124 in.). Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

Agnolo di Cosimo, called Bronzino (Italian, 1503–1572). An Allegory with Venus and Cupid (The Exposure of Luxury), c. 1545. Oil on wood. 146.1 x 116.2 cm. National Gallery, London.

Giuseppe Scolari (Venetian, before 1564–1625). The Entombment, 1592/1607. Woodcut. Sheet: 691 x 442 mm. (27 3/16 x 17 3/8 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Giuseppe Scolari (Venetian, before 1564–1625). Man of Sorrows, 1590–1607. Woodcut. 480 x 328 mm. (19 x 13 in.). British Museum, London.

Gustave Doré (French, 1832–1883). Christ Mocked. Charcoal. Unknown Collection.

Rockwell Kent (American, 1872–1971). Bowsprit, 1930. Wood engraving. Sheet: 10 1/16 × 11 1/16 in. (256 × 281 mm.); image: 5 7/16 × 6 15/16 in. (138 × 176 mm.). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Barry Moser (American, born 1940). Man of Sorrows from Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, 1999. Wood engraving. 7 x 11. Pennyroyal Press, Easthampton, MA.

Further reading:

• Rinaldo Canalis and Massimo Ciavolella, eds. Andreas Vesalius and the Fabrica in the Age of Printing: Art, Anatomy and Printing in the Italian Renaissance. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2018.
• Linda Hults. The Print in the Western World: An Introductory History. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996.
• David Rosand. Titian and the Venetian Woodcuts: A Loan Exhibition. Washington, D.C.: International Exhibitions Foundation, 1976.
• Larry Silver and Elizabeth Wyckoff, eds. Grand Scale: Monumental Prints in the Age of Dürer and Titan. Wellesley, MA: Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, 2008.

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