Newsgroup: it.cultura.libri
Titolo: Please help him! – He needs intensive mental care.

By S.E.Hendriksen, 
Greenlandic Art Research
P.O.Box 1004
3910 Kangerlussuaq
Greenland
Kangerlussuaq 4. December 2002
 
Professor Charles Hope, Director of Warburg Institute, University of
London "The school for advanced studies" wrote in at letter to
Greenlandic Art Research some days ago, concerning a question about
Titian Vecellio's so-called late style:
"You are right about there being a problem about the so-called late
style, but the usual interpretation is that the works in the so-called
late style are either unfinished, or else completed after Titian's
death by someone else. The question of who finished late Titians is
not answerable, since we do not have independent works by his main
(documented) assistants, notably Emanuel Amberger. The Berlin picture
is one of the most typical products of the studio, known in several
versions, none of which has much claim to be autographed
Not much point, indeed not any point, in continuing this exchange. 
Best wishes, Charles Hope"
Prof. Charles Hope is one of the intellectual reptile brains behind
the Titian Vecellio exhibition in The National Gallery of London,
spring 2003. He knows that a lot of questions will be asked about the
late style, painted by Orazio Vecellio, Titians youngest son, so he
made this story up.
Thanks God – I'm a Greenlandic taxpayer!
This is not about showing some renaissance paintings for the art
hungry public on the exhibition, it's about printing in stone by
hammer and chisel – TITIAN PAINTED THE LATE STYLE, works in the
co-called late style are either unfinished or else completed after
Titians dead by someone else.
"The question of who finished late Titians is not answerable; since we
do not have independent works by his main (documented) assistants"
I can recall one, Orazio Vecellio his main assistant and manager of
the Vecellio studio, and he painted without any doubt "The
Crucifixion" in The Escorial 1559.
In 1956 a scholar by the name of Fiocco noticed a small (23x17 cm)
crucifixion scene in The Escorial close to Madrid. Through further
research he found that the painting had been engraved by Bonasone,
with Titian credited as the inventor. Fiocco published the painting as
by Titian with out a whisper of protest.
Of course it is quite a dramatic representation of a dark foreboding
sky with three angels collecting the savior's life-blood, done in the
so-called "late style" of Titian. A few years after Fiocco, a German
scholar named Braunfels connected this painting with a letter that
Titian wrote to Philip II on 29 September 1559, thanking him for his
efforts to get justice for the knife attack of the sculptor Leone
Lioni upon his son Orazio in Milan. In the letter he mentions sending,
as a gift of thanks, a small crucifixion scene painted by his son
Orazio. A second mention in the correspondence of Spanish envoy Garcia
Hernandez to the king confirmed this.
This hint of attribution to Orazio caused great consternation amongst
the Titian scholarship elite! Perplexed to say the least, looking for
even a small straw to keep their conspiracy afloat! Incredibly,
several scholars came up with the absurd assertion that Titian had
painted the painting himself and had lied to the king in order to
promote the interests of his son! Needless to say, the Escorial
Crucifixion has a waterproof or even gas-proof provenance: It has been
hanging in the building ever since it was delivered to Philip II.
Another instance of Orazio's work mentioned by Vasari: while in Rome
with his father in 1545, Orazio painted a portrait of the violinist
Battistia Ceciliano, and Vasari says he gave a good account of
himself! I have deduced that this must be the portrait of a
long-haired man hanging in the Palazzo Spada in Rome scene in the
Escorial close to Madrid, which has sometimes been attributed to
Titian. The painting bears the conspicuous initials "C.A.", which are
somewhat suspicious and may be a later addition. Wethey says this
painting is neither Titian's nor Orazio's work, but that it is early
sixteenth century, Giorgionesque in character, and is of course of
poor quality, and won't stick his neck out any further than that!
Personally I think it is an exceptionally good work for the young
twenty-year-old Orazio!
As you can see the poor man can't win! 
It has been said that painting was not Orazio's forte, that he was a
mediocre talent. He supposedly preferred to handle the business end of
the family firm and really did not do much painting and liked it less!
The biographer and artist Vasari, taken so literally regarding other
matters, is completely disregarded as to his commendation of Orazio's
talents as a youngster. Through Vasari we know that Orazio won, on
equal terms, a painting competition against the great masters Jacobo
Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese, contemporary Venetians, producing the
Battle of Castel Sant. Angelo from the life of Frederick Barbarossa
for the Sala Del Maggior Consiglio in the Ducal Palace.
That he was paid a hundred ducats on 12 August 1564 for winning the
contest is noticeably neglected, despite the fact that the painting
competition was held in public, painting side by side on a wall. Any
interference or intervention from the father would have been noted, if
not by an outsider, then by Tintoretto or Veronese who must have
guarded zealously against this very obvious possibility occurring as
nothing less than their integrity and reputation was at stake. They
would definitely have protested vigorously in public and contested the
outcome if Titian had intervened. Instead, to the ear of Vasari went
the insinuations and sly whisperings of the two sorely jealous
masters!  Sadly the painting was destroyed by fire in 1577, only one
year after Orazio's death. It was a heavy burden being the painter son
of the famous Titian and toiling in his immense shadow.
If you were bad you got the blame, if you were good your father got
the credit!
Regards
S.E.Hendriksen

 This is not about showing some renaissance paintings for the art
the rest is to long for me, I will await the résumé of Bart of the Monks which I
hope will be shorter.
titianious greetings to Greenland!
Jürgen

 hope will be shorter.
Quanti byte ho a disposizione? :-)
Un saluto da Bart of the Monks (o Monk?). Finii di leggere Il Monaco di
Matthew Gregory Lewis il 25 giugno 1969 (eri nato?) nella edizione Bompiani,
20 gennaio 1967, curata da Antonin Artaud e tradotta da Giorgio Agamben e
Ginevra Bompiani.
--
Su 
www.ibs.it
 e 
www.libropolis.it
 : dopo Mattia e Eleonora;
Giulia; Gigolň; Le tre sorelle, ora Lo sconosciuto
www.bartolomeodimonaco.it
bartolome...@ti.it