The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (Titian)

Last updated

The Archangel Raphael and Tobias
Accademia - Archangel Raphael and Tobit by Titian.jpg
Yearc.1512−1514
Catalogue1325
Medium Oil on panel
Dimensions170 cm× 146 cm(67 in× 57 in)
Location Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (Italian: Arcangelo Raffaele e Tobiolo) is an oil painting by Titian of Tobias and the Angel, dated to about 1512 to 1514, which is now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. Another painting by Titian of the same subject, entitled Tobias and the Angel (Tobiolo e l'angelo), dated to about 1540 to 1545, remains in the church of the Madonna dell'Orto in Venice.

Contents

The Archangel Raphael and Tobias

This early, Giorgionesque work of Tobias and the Angel is recorded in a print by Lefèbre. [1] The painting comes from the church of Santa Caterina, Venice, and was formerly thought by some scholars to be a copy of a lost original. [2]

The picture is attested—starting from Boschini, writing in 1664—on an altar dedicated to the Archangel Raphael on the right side of the church. The presence of the Bembo coat of arms suggests that the painting was commissioned by a member of the family of the Renaissance humanist scholar Pietro Bembo. [3]

Tobias and the Angel

Tobias and the Angel
Madonna dell'Orto (Venice) - Chapel Vendramin - Arcangel Raphael and Tobias by Titien.jpg
Yearc.1540−1545
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions200 cm× 140 cm(79 in× 55 in)
Location Madonna dell'Orto, Venice

History

Vasari relates that Titian painted it in 1507, "at the time of the war of the Emperor Maximilian, as he himself tells". [4] Giovanni Morelli also considered this version an early work. [1] But the style contradicts this view, and therefore the picture is put down by Crowe and Cavalcaselle to the same time as the Presentation of the Virgin . Gronau and Ricketts think that it was done a short time later, in the early 1540s. [5] [1]

Description

In Tobias and the Archangel, the two figures are both put into the right half of the picture. They have advanced quite to the front walking briskly; their attention is directed to the vase which Raphael carries—the boy's eye is fixed intently upon it. As he steps along, the left leg of the Archangel is bared, his right arm is stretched out from his body, the left, which is not visible, seems to be placed round Tobias to protect him. A little dog runs in front and leads the way. The left half of the picture is filled by the entrance to a wood, in the shadow of which a kneeling man’s figure (perhaps John the Baptist) is to be seen. This dark mass of trees serves to bring out the two figures strongly to the front. [6]

Analysis

According to Georg Gronau, the Annunciation and Tobias and the Archangel exhibit similar artistic tendencies, especially in colour, to the Presentation of Mary in the Temple . [7] Ricketts is critical the first two pictures mentioned: "Both are sadly darkened owing to neglect—neither is quite worthy of Titian—both suggest an earlier type of design executed at a period when the painter's technique had changed and become unsuited to the character of the composition." [1] Gronau thinks the little dog in the Tobias "very badly painted if we think of the great animal painters of the succeeding century". [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Michelangelo Morlaiter was an Italian painter, active mainly in Venice. He was one of the founding members and professor of the Accademia di Scoltura, Pittura, ed Architettura Civile in Venice in 1766.

<i>Cain and Abel</i> (Titian) Painting by Titian

Cain and Abel is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian. It was made in about 1543–1545 for the church of Santo Spirito, but is now in the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

<i>Abraham and Isaac</i> (Titian) Painting by Titian

Abraham and Isaac, also known as the Sacrifice of Isaac, is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian. It was made in about 1543–1544 for the church of Santo Spirito, but is now in the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

<i>David and Goliath</i> (Titian) Painting by Titian

David and Goliath is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian. It was made in about 1542–1544 for the church of Santo Spirito, but is now in the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

<i>Salome</i> (Titian, Madrid) Painting by Titian in Madrid

Salome, also known as Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian, made in about 1550, and currently in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It is not to be confused with other compositions of Salome and Judith by Titian.

<i>Girl with a Platter of Fruit</i> Painting by Titian

Girl with a Platter of Fruit, also known as Lavinia Holding a Charger Filled with Fruit, Lavinia as Flora, and Pomona, is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian, made in about 1555–1558, and currently in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.

<i>Portrait of Jacopo Sannazaro</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Jacopo Sannazaro, also known as Portrait of a Man, is an oil painting by the Venetian master Titian, dated to about 1513. It is part of the Royal Collection, and hangs in Buckingham Palace.

<i>Portrait of the Physician Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of the Physician Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma, also known as Portrait of a Man, is an oil painting by the Venetian master Titian, made about 1515. The painting is in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>Nymph and Shepherd</i> Painting by Titian

Nymph and Shepherd, also called Shepherd and Nymph, is an oil painting by the Venetian master Titian, made about 1570. The painting is in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>Portrait of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian, made in late 1550 or early 1551. The painting is in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>Pilgrims at Emmaus</i> Painting by Titian

The Pilgrims at Emmaus, also called the Supper at Emmaus, is a painting by Titian, made about 1533 or 1534, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

<i>Supper at Emmaus</i> (Titian) Paintings by Titian

The Supper at Emmaus is the title shared by several similar works by Titian, two of which are discussed here. The first, made about 1534, is currently on long-term loan to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The second, made about 1545 by Titian and his studio, is in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

<i>Ecce Homo</i> (Titian, Vienna) 1543 painting by Titian

The Ecce Homo is a large oil painting by Titian, signed and dated 1543, which hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is not to be confused with several smaller compositions by Titian.

<i>Portrait of a Man with a Falcon</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of a Man with a Falcon, also called Portrait of a Man of the Cornaro Family with a Falcon or Giorgio Cornaro with a Falcon, is an oil painting by the Italian painter Titian. It is variously dated from the late 1520s to the 1540s. The painting is in the collection of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.

<i>Portrait of Benedetto Varchi</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Benedetto Varchi, also called Portrait of a Man, is an oil painting by Titian. It was painted in around 1540, and hangs today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>Portrait of Fabrizio Salvaresio</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Fabrizio Salvaresio is an oil painting by Titian. It is signed and dated 1558, and hangs today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

<i>Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo is an oil painting by Titian, signed and dated 1552, which hangs in the São Paulo Museum of Art.

<i>Baptism of Christ</i> (Titian) Painting by Titian

The Baptism of Christ is a religious painting by Titian, dated to about 1512, in the collection of the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

<i>Portrait of Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera is an oil painting by Titian, dated to between 1535 and 1540, which hangs in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.

<i>Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti</i> Painting by Titian

Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti is an oil painting by the Venetian master Titian, painted in the late 1540s, which is part of the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It is a portrait of Andrea Gritti, who was doge of Venice from 1523 to his death in 1538. A posthumous portrait, it is likely based on earlier depictions of the Doge, including one executed by Titian between 1537 and 1540 for Sala del Maggior Consiglio and destroyed during a fire in 1577.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ricketts 1910, p. 99.
  2. Ricketts 1910, p. 186.
  3. Gallerie Accademia, Venezia.
  4. (vli. p. 430); qtd. in Gronau 1904, p. 299.
  5. Gronau 1904, p. 299.
  6. 1 2 Gronau 1904, p. 121.
  7. Gronau 1904, p. 119.

Sources

Attribution: