Abstract

Titian is best known for paintings that embodied the tradition of the Venetian Renaissance—but how Venetian was the artist himself? In this study, Tom Nichols probes the tensions between the individualism of Titian’s work and the conservative mores of the city, showing how his art undermined the traditional self-suppressing approach to painting in Venice and reflected his engagement with the individualistic cultures emerging in the courts of early modern Europe.
            Ranging widely across Titian’s long career and varied works, Titian and the End of the Venetian Renaissance outlines his radical innovations to the traditional Venetian altarpiece; his transformation of portraits into artistic creations; and his meteoric breakout from the confines of artistic culture in Venice. Nichols explores how Titian challenged the city’s communal values with his competitive professional identity, contending that his intensely personalized way of painting resulted in a departure that effectively brought an end to the Renaissance tradition of painting. Packed with 170 illustrations, this groundbreaking book will change the way people look at Titian and Venetian art history.  
“Provocative. . . . nicely illustrated and well-produced. . . . It offers a challenging alternative view of one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. Recommended.”
— Choice
“Nichols’s book offers the kind of free-flowing and deeply intelligent analysis of a painter’s career that can only be produced after long study and intimate familiarity with his subject. It is beautifully written and generously illustrated, and you feel both Nichols’s and Titian’s minds working at every turn.”
— Renaissance and Reformation Review
Tom Nichols is a reader in the history of art the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and the author of Tintoretto: Tradition and Identity, also published by Reaktion Books.