• Wednesday 19 March - Panel III

Luba Freedman

By Titian's time, the juxtaposition of the painter's name with that of Apelles, and of the ruler-patron with that of Alexander the Great, had become a commonplace. This type of juxtaposition so often made in the Renaissance appears to preclude any possibility to attribute to it any significance. Many painters too, and among them Antonio Pisanello and Andrea Mantegna - Quattrocento painters who had worked in the same locales (Ferrara and Mantua) as Titian would, - had their names linked with Apelles. These bonds were rarely constructed for altruistic reasons: by comparing artists with Apelles, writers drew a comparison between their patrons with Alexander the Great, allowing each of them to think of himself as the new 'Alexander', for whom a new 'Apelles' was working.

Titian, however, stands out among other Renaissance painters in being actively involved throughout his life in drawing the parallel between himself and Apelles. Not only did writers call him Apelles, but also he himself activated this comparison. He deliberately chose the subjects and types of painting that Apelles did for Alexander the Great, in the hope of receiving more commissions and similar benefits from noble or princely patrons. When working for the nobility (Alfonso d'Este, Francesco Maria della Rovere, and especially Charles V and his son, Philip II), Titian constantly reminded his elite patrons, implicitly or explicitly, of Alexander the Great's generosity toward Apelles. He obviously considered the parallel between himself and Apelles to be an effective means of flattering his patrons as well as of inducing them to lend him their support.

Although his letters communicate that he expected to receive from his patrons the same rewards that Apelles had received from Alexander the Great, these letters also imply that Titian viewed Apelles as a model painter, being, to use Johan Huizinga's expression, 'a historical life-ideal' or a model of greatness to emulate. As Apelles was recognized as an excellent painter in his own times, so too did Titian aspire to the same repute. He adopted not only the major motifs and compositions of the ancient master's paintings, but even several of his habits, many of which were immortalized in proverbs (e.g., 'Nulla dies sine linea'). Moreover, by consistently linking his name with that of Apelles throughout the long period of his artistic life, Titian intimated that he thought of himself as a landmark in the development of the arts. The consistency with which he drew the links between himself and the great Greek painter is in itself remarkable. His contemporaries, too, through comparing him to Apelles, lent support to the artist's self-proclamation as the Apelles novus.

Department of the History of Art, The Faculty of Humanities,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905 Jerusalem.

lubafre@mscc.huji.ac.il