Pesaro Madonna

The Pesaro Madonna, also known as Madonna di Ca' Pesaro, is a large painting by Titian, executed around 1519-1526 for the chapel that the Pesaro family acquired in the Frari Basilica in Venice, where it still hangs. Jacopo Pesaro, who commissioned it, was Bishop of Paphos in Cyprus and had been named commander of the papal fleet by Pope Alexander VI, of the Borgia family. Jacopo kneels at the lower left, presented to the Virgin by Saint Peter. The saint's key lies prominently on the step, and its diagonal leads the eye up to the Virgin at the top of the stairs, an allusion to her role as the stairway to heaven. Titian is said to have used his wife, who died in childbirth soon after, as the model for the Virgin. At the left, a large red banner displays the papal arms and the Pesaro arms, beside a laurel branch, a symbol of victory; a knight leads two prisoners, a Turk and a Moor, probably referring to Jacopo's victory over the Turks in 1502. On the right, Saint Francis and Saint Anthony of Padua, both Franciscans, link the family to Christ. While the donors remain motionless, the other figures gesture energetically and occupy diagonal planes. The composition is the work's most striking feature. Titian broke with centuries of tradition that placed the Virgin and Child at the centre, creating a sense of movement that anticipates the more complex compositional methods of the Baroque. The massive columns, cropped at the top, are unusual in Renaissance painting, and their presence has been debated: X-rays show that Titian first painted other architectural elements in their place. The altarpiece was removed after the 2012 earthquakes in northern Italy for a lengthy conservation and was reinstalled in 2017.

Painter

Titian

Date

1522

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

478 × 268 cm

Museum

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

Movement

High Renaissance, Venetian school

Genre

religious art

Depicts

papal coat of arms, nudity, sitting, key, Franciscans, Jacopo Pesaro, Cecilia Soldano, Anthony of Padua

Share:FacebookWhatsApp