1537 (ca.), Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino -- Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
From the museum label: Possibly painted while the Duchess was in Venice in the winter of 1536-1537, the portrait predates that of her husband, Duke Francesco Maria I della Rovere (on display here), by a few months. Yet the two pieces complement one another. The Duke is portrayed as a valiant warrior, while Eleonora is the living example of a faithful wife (the lap dog is a symbol of marital fidelity) and guardian of womanly virtues. Two sonnets on these paintings, composed by Pietro Aretino, celebrate Titian's talent as a portraitist and his exceptional skill in capturing the two sitters' moral qualities, transcending even the capacity for expression of poetry itself.
1537 (ca.), Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino -- Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
From the museum label: Possibly painted while the Duchess was in Venice in the winter of 1536-1537, the portrait predates that of her husband, Duke Francesco Maria I della Rovere (on display here), by a few months. Yet the two pieces complement one another. The Duke is portrayed as a valiant warrior, while Eleonora is the living example of a faithful wife (the lap dog is a symbol of marital fidelity) and guardian of womanly virtues. Two sonnets on these paintings, composed by Pietro Aretino, celebrate Titian's talent as a portraitist and his exceptional skill in capturing the two sitters' moral qualities, transcending even the capacity for expression of poetry itself.