Description of Titian’s painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love. The solution to Titian's painting "earthly love and heavenly love" Titian love

Titian immortalized his name by creating beautiful canvases, embodying scenes from the Bible and mythology. In addition, he was an outstanding portrait painter. He painted more than a hundred canvases, many of which depict outstanding personalities of his time, and Titian lived in the first half of the 16th century in Venice. By the age of thirty he was recognized the best artist Venice. Kings and popes ordered their portraits from him, not to mention smaller nobles. And in the midst of it all creative heritage special place occupied by the painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love.”

There is reason to believe that the painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” was commissioned by Niccolo Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten Venetian Republic. Niccolo got married and the painting was given the role of a wedding gift. It is worth noting that the painting did not immediately have its modern name - it was named that way no earlier than two centuries after the date of creation - 1514. In 1608, the painting was bought by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, famous philanthropist and art collector. In his catalog, the painting was listed under several names: “Beauty, embellished and unadorned,” “Three types of love,” “Divine and socialite women" The title “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” appeared in the same catalog in 1792.

The plot of the film still causes heated debate. There are two main versions. According to the first, in the painting Venus persuades Medea to help Jason, which is borrowed from the popular book at that time “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili”, the authorship of which is attributed to the Dominican monk Francesco Colonna. According to another version, in the painting Titian depicted his own beloved, the beautiful Violanta, depicting her in earthly and divine form. But whatever the original plot, it was forgotten, since it did not have much significance in comparison with the artistic power of the canvas.

There is an opinion that Titian tried to convey a certain state of mind. The landscape, made in soft and calm colors, the clear sonority of the colors of beautiful and somewhat cold-toned clothes, the freshness of the naked body - all this creates a feeling of calm joy. The poetic unity and peaceful mood of the picture is greatly contributed by the landscape. The spreading rays of the setting sun, the dark green crowns of trees, heavy wet clouds over the still water of the most miraculously harmonize with the beauty of women.

If you try to interpret the symbols and signs in the picture, then you can confidently point only to the coat of arms of Niccolo Aurelio, located on the front wall of the sarcophagus and cupid, which definitely symbolizes Love. Everything else will remain in the territory of conjecture and conjecture, and therefore it is better to abandon attempts to endow the picture with any meaning and simply admire its visual beauty. Perhaps it is inner silence and tranquility that is the true goal of the picture, because is it possible to find a better state to experience earthly and heavenly love?

Currently, the painting “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” is in the collection of the Borghese Gallery in Rome.

The painting was commissioned by Niccolò Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. An indirect fact confirming the identity of the customer is the presence of the coat of arms of Niccolo Aurelio on the front wall of the sarcophagus. Aurelio married a young widow, Laura Bagarotto. The wedding was celebrated in Venice on May 17, 1514, and the painting was most likely his wedding gift to the bride. Modern name the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used according to at least two centuries after its creation.

Against the backdrop of a sunset landscape, a richly dressed Venetian woman, holding a needlework box with her left hand, and a naked Venus, holding a bowl of fire, are sitting at the source. According to S. Zuffi, a dressed girl personifies love in marriage; The color of her dress (white), the belt, the gloves on her hands, the myrtle wreath crowning her head, her flowing hair and roses indicate marriage. In the background there is a pair of rabbits - a wish for large offspring. This is not a portrait of Laura Bagarotto, but an allegory of a happy marriage.

A marble sarcophagus turned into a spring is a mysterious detail. Marble, a symbol of death, is quite strange to find in a picture overflowing with wishes for a happy family life. The scene of violence on the sarcophagus apparently recalls the unjust execution of Laura's father, Bertuccio Bagarotto, which occurred in 1509. The basin standing on the sarcophagus is decorated with the heraldic signs of the Bagarotto family. Pure water in the source symbolizes the birth of a new life.

The naked girl symbolizes love, which is transformed into eternal, heavenly, this is indicated by the burning lamp in her raised hand.

Notes

Literature

In Russian

• Batkin L. M. The Italian Renaissance: Issues and People. - M.: RSUH, 1995. - P. 195-196. - 448 p.
• Benois, A. N. Heavenly love, earthly love// History of painting. - St. Petersburg. , 1912-1917. - T. II.
• Dzeri F. (English) Russian . Titian. Earthly love and heavenly love. - White City, 2006. - 48 p. - (One hundred great paintings). - 5000 copies.
• - ISBN 5-7793-0415-7. Zuffi S. it.
• Large atlas of painting. Art. 1000 years. - M.: Olma-Press, 2004. - 432 p. - ISBN 5-224-04316-6. Krivtsun O. A.
• Aesthetics: A Textbook. - M.: Aspect Press, 2000. - 434 p. - ISBN 5756702105. Makarova N. I..

• in other languages Argan G. C.
• L"Amor sacro e l"Amor profano di Tiziano Vecellio. - Milano: Bompiani, 1950. Bonicatti M.
• Aspetti dell "Umanesimo nella pittura veneta dal 1455 al 1515. - Roma: Cremonese, 1964. Calvesi M. it.
• Un amore per Venere e Proserpina // Art e Dossier it. - 1989. - No. 39. Clerici G. P.
• Tiziano e l"Hypnerotomachia Poliphili e una nuova interpretazione del quadro della Galleria Borghese (L"Amor Sacro e l"Amor Profano) // Bibliofilia XX. - 1918. - No. 19. (English) Russian . Cozzi G.
• Tiziano e Venezia. Atti del Convegno di Studi. - Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 1980. Friedlander W.La tintura delle rose.
• . - The Art Bulletin. - 1938. - Vol. XVI. - P. 320-324. Gentili A.
• Da Tiziano a Tiziano. mito e allegoria nella cultura veneziana del Cinquecento. - Milano: Feltrinelli, 1980. Gibellini C.
• Tiziano. - Milano: Rizzoli, 2003. - (I Classici dell'arte). Gnoli U.
• Amor Sacro e Profano? // Rassegna d'Arte. - 1902. - Vol. II. Goffen R. Titian's ‘Sacred and Profane Love’ and Marriage
• // The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art. - New York: Harper Collins, 1992. Titian's Sacred and Profane Love: Individuality and Sexulity in a Renaissance Marriage Picture
• // Studies of History of Art. - 1993. - Vol. XXV. Hope C. Problems of interpretations in Titian's erotic paintings
• // Tiziano e Venezia. Atti del convegno di studi. - Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 1980. La Fontaine d'amour de Titien // Gazette des Beaux-Arts. - 1917. - Vol. XII.
• Mayer A. L. Aurelio Nicolò: the Commisioner of Titian's Sacred and Profane Love // ​​The Art Bulletin. - 1939. - Vol. XXI.
• Ozzola L. Venere e Elena. L"amor sacro e l"amor profano // L"Arte. - 1906. - Vol. IX.
• Panofsky E. Immagini simboliche. Studi sull "arte del Rinascimento. - Milano: Feltrinelli, 1978.
• Peterson E. Tizians amor sagro e profano und Willkurlichkeiten moderner Kunsterklaurung // Die Galerien Europas. - 1907. - Vol. 2.
• Poppelreuter J. de . Sappho und die Najade Titians, Himmlische und irdische Liebe // Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft. - 1913. - Vol. XXXVI.
• Ricciardi M. L. L"Amor sacro e profano. Un ulteriore tentativo di sciogliere l"enigma // Notizie da Palazzo Albani. - 1986. - Vol. XV.
• Robertson G. Honour, Love and Truth: An Alternative Reading of Titian's Sacred and Profane Love // ​​Renaissance Studies. - 1988. - Vol. 2.
• Valcanover F.ru it.

Tiziano. - Milano: Mondadori Arte, 2008. - ISBN 978-88-370-6436-5. Great and famous artist Venice's Titian Veccellio was once commissioned to paint a painting as a gift for a bride. The author did not name his canvas in any way, since he had no idea that he was creating one of greatest canvases artistic arts

. A few years later, when the painting was purchased, it was given the name “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love.” The painting at the well shows two beautiful girls. One is very nicely dressed. She is wearing a chic white dress with red sleeves. Golden fluffy hair. Pure white skin. On the opposite side, in no way inferior in beauty to the first girl, sits completely naked woman . Only the beautiful satin fabric slightly covers the most intimate areas. Her curves and body are just perfect. The skin is clear, the hair is golden-colored, long and silky. Apparently, this is the goddess of beauty. She went down to the earthly beauty for important conversation

. The goddess tells her something, and the girl listens carefully and thinks. On background twilight is already visible. The sun disappeared behind the clouds, and only a line orange color

decorates the sky. Behind the well, a little cupid is playing with water. Perhaps he went down with the goddess, or perhaps he accompanied a girl in love. It seems to me that this is the bride for whom the painting was intended. The author compared her with a goddess and showed that earthly women are very beautiful and attractive. This picture occupies an important place both in the past and in our time and refers to author. Even critics admire her.

For several centuries, Titian's painting was considered only an allegory. However, the artist wrote differently: he deliberately mixed symbols with specific details. After all, the goal was not at all abstract - to smooth out the scandal in the secular circles of Venice

Painting “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love”
Oil on canvas, 118 x 278 cm
Year of creation: around 1514
Now kept in Rome in the Borghese Gallery

The painting by the early Titian received the title “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love” in 1693. Based on this, art critics identified the women depicted on it with identical faces with two hypostases of the goddess of love, known to Renaissance intellectuals from the works of ancient philosophers. However, the title of Titian's masterpiece was first mentioned in 1613 as "Beauty, Embellished and Unadorned." It is unknown what the artist or the customer called the canvas.

Only in the 20th century did researchers pay attention to the abundance of wedding symbols and the coat of arms of the Venetian family on the canvas. They concluded that the owner of the coat of arms, the secretary of the Council of Ten Nicolo Aurelio, commissioned the painting from Titian on the occasion of his marriage in 1514 to Laura Bagarotto, a young widow from Padua. As the Venetian chronicler of that time, Marin Sanudo, noted, this wedding was “discussed everywhere” - the newlywed had too difficult a past. In 1509, at the height of the military conflict between the Venetian Republic and the Holy Roman Empire, Laura's first husband, the Paduan aristocrat Francesco Borromeo, took the side of the emperor. Padua was subordinate to Venice, so Borromeo was arrested and probably executed by the Council of Ten as a traitor. Many of Laura's relatives were imprisoned and exiled. Her father Bertuccio Bagarotto, a university professor, was hanged in front of his wife and children on the same charge, which in his case was unjust.

Permission for the marriage of a high-ranking Venetian official with a widow and daughter state criminals discussed by a commission headed by the doge, and it was received. Through the efforts of the groom, Laura’s previously confiscated rich dowry was returned the day before the wedding. The painting, commissioned from the most prestigious and by no means cheap artist in Venice, was probably supposed to add respectability to the marriage in the eyes of fellow citizens.

1. Bride. According to art critic Rona Goffin, this is unlikely to be a portrait of Laura Bagarotto, because then the naked lady was painted from her, which in those days would have damaged the reputation of a decent woman. This is an idealized image of a newlywed.

2. Dress. As shown by radiographic analysis, Titian first painted it in red. However, at the top of Laura's dowry list was a wedding dress made of white satin, and Rona Goffin believed that the artist decided to depict this dress. A belt, a symbol of marital fidelity, and gloves are also attributes of a wedding dress: grooms gave these things as a gift for betrothal as a sign of the seriousness of their intentions.

3. Wreath. Evergreen myrtle is a plant of Venus, symbolizing love and fidelity. Wreaths woven from it were an attribute of weddings in Ancient Rome.

4. Bowl. As Rona Goffin wrote, grooms traditionally presented wedding gifts to Venetian brides in similar vessels.

5. Rabbits. The symbol of fertility next to the figure of the bride is a wish for the newlyweds to have numerous offspring.

6. Nude. According to most researchers, including Italian Renaissance art expert Federico Zeri and British Titian specialist Charles Hope, this is the goddess Venus. She and the newlywed are so similar because in ancient poetry the bride was often compared to the goddess of love. Venus blesses an earthly woman for marriage.

7. Landscape. According to Dzeri, behind the characters’ backs there are two contrasting symbols associated with marriage: the road up the mountain - hard way prudence and unshakable fidelity, the plain is bodily pleasures in marriage.

8. Cupid. The son of Venus, the winged god of love here is the mediator between the goddess and the bride.

9. Fountain. It bears the coat of arms of the Aurelio family. According to art critic Walter Friedländer, this is the tomb of Venus's lover Adonis, described in the 15th century novel “Hypnerotomachy of Polyphilus” - a sarcophagus (symbol of death) from which water flows (symbol of life). The relief on the marble depicts the beating of Adonis by the jealous Mars: according to the novel, the young man died at the hands of the god of war. This is not only an indication of the tragically ended love of the goddess, but also a reminder of the sad past of Laura Bagarotto.

10. Lamp. The antique lamp in Venus’s hand, according to Federico Zeri, symbolizes the flame of divine, sublime love.

Artist
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)

Between 1474 and 1490- was born in the city of Pieve di Cadore, which has been part of the Venetian Republic since 1420, into a noble family.
About 1500- moved to Venice to study art.
1517 - received from the Venetian authorities the position of intermediary in the supply of salt, which, according to researchers, indicates his status as the official painter of the republic.
1525 - married Cecilia Soldano, with whom by that time he already had two sons.
1530 - widowed, his wife died after the birth of their daughter Lavinia.
1551–1562 - created “Poems”, a series of paintings based on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”.
1576 - died in his workshop, buried in the Venetian church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.

Dear friends!

I offer you an “investigation” of Titian’s painting “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love.”

It was very interesting and exciting to travel through Titian's labyrinths.

A short introduction is necessary here. I have known this painting by Titian since childhood. From the early age- I felt it, touched it, absorbed it. Even before I started reading, I was leafing through art albums that were in our house. And this picture could not pass me by. Two beautiful young women - as a symbol of eternal beauty and immortality on the background majestic landscapes. So this picture was kept in my memory.

Businessman, writer, screenwriter and collector Oleg Nasobin under the nickname avvakoum I dedicated a series of posts to this picture:
http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/410978.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/411595.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/412853.html

http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/950485.html

After reading these posts, I thought: perhaps my painting also has its own secret meaning, invisible on the surface, Which? I tried to figure it out. And I offer you my thoughts on this matter.

I carefully read Oleg Nasobin’s posts and comments to them. I took some finds and details into use. Thanks for them. I would be grateful for all comments, clarifications, additions and objections.

The starting point of my research was the fact that the customer of this painting was Niccolò Aurelio, secretary of the Council of Ten of the Venetian Republic. The Council of Ten is the governing body of the powerful Venice, the pearl of the Adriatic. the customer clearly spoke not on his own behalf, but on behalf of other forces who wished to remain anonymous.
But for the “cover legend,” Aurelio ordered the painting as a gift to his bride, the young widow Laura Bogaratto, whom he later married. To strengthen the “legend”, Aurelio’s coat of arms was depicted on the front wall of the sarcophagus. But all this is a “smokescreen” designed to distract from the real meaning of the picture and from the real “customers”. It is interesting to note that the painting received its name “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love” almost two centuries after its creation.

It is obvious that during Titian’s lifetime the painting was untitled, or only a narrow circle of people knew its real name.

What is the mystery of the picture? What did Titian actually paint? It must be said right away that great artist was initiated into the intricacies of secret history and secret societies.

Let's turn to the picture itself. What do we see on it?

Two young women - naked and dressed in fluffy dress sitting on the edge of a sarcophagus filled with water, where Cupid put his hand.

A river flows in the background of Heavenly Love.

The river can be interpreted as the underground river Alfios, an allegory of secret “underground legends”, a symbol of invisible knowledge passed on by “initiates” from generation to generation.

Or you can interpret the River as a heavenly teaching. It should be noted that water has long symbolized information and Knowledge.

It can be assumed that the sarcophagus contains water from this sacred river. A stream of water, in turn, pours out of the sarcophagus, feeding the bush depicted in the foreground of the picture. That is, in in this case sarcophagus - Source.

What kind of water-Knowledge is concentrated in the sarcophagus?

Let's resort to decryption.

There are several tips here. This is the Templar tower behind the back of the “earthly” woman, that is, the teachings of the Templars and the sarcophagus itself. Now we will see that this is a sarcophagus, and not a pool or fountain, as some commentators on the painting interpret.

Sarcophagus - a carved stone coffin. And if this is a coffin, then whose remains lie there? And here we have the following “hints”. Dish and Cupid. Some commentators point out that the angel is catching flowers from the water. But flowers, as you know, float on the surface of the water, and do not sink. So what is a child looking for in the water? To answer, just look at the dish. The exact same dish is depicted in Titian’s painting “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist.”

It is interesting to note that Titian has three paintings on this theme.

The first of them was written a year after the creation of “Heavenly Love and Earthly Love.” And the dish there is different. But there is a “hint” in the form right hand, wrapped in a scarlet cape. Earthly Love also has a right scarlet sleeve

But the painting, painted already in 1560, depicts “our” dish.

An interesting fact is that the painting “Salome” turned out to be “prophetic” in relation to one significant historical event. Since 1649, Titian's Salome has been in the collection of Hampton Court Palace in Great Britain. And in the same year, the English monarch Charles I was beheaded.

And in another picture, where Salome is depicted, you can also see a dish already familiar to us.

(In parentheses, it can be noted that this picture is associated with a story similar to the one described by Oleg Nasobin in the post: “Sotheby’s deprived the client of money and sleep” http://avvakoum.livejournal.com/1281815.html

Those who want to familiarize themselves with the material regarding Titian's painting can follow the link http://thenews.kz/2010/02/25/267486.html).

So, we have established that for some reason, years later, Titian decided to “decipher” the dish he had painted earlier and “link” it with the head of John the Baptist.

As you know, according to legend, John the Baptist was the first Grand Master of the Priory of Sion.

This means that the artist depicted the Priory of Sion in a symbolic form; in this case, water (the teachings of the Priory of Sion) in turn becomes a source of nutrition (Knowledge) for the bush. It seems to “give birth” to this bush. At the same time, as I already mentioned, behind “earthly love” is the Tamlian tower...

So, the key to unraveling the picture is the BUSH. What kind of bush is this?

This is a FIVE-PETAL ROSE, something in between (or a hybrid) of a rose and a rose hip. More precisely, a type of the oldest rose - Dog Rose. As you know, rose hips are the ancestor of roses.

This five-petalled rose was the magical plant of the Rosicrucians. If you look closely, you can see that the bush itself is “drawn” in the shape of a cross.

This plant, the leaves of the five-petalled rose, were depicted on the symbols of the Rosicrucian Order.

It is interesting that in the Czech Republic, where various mystical movements were strong, the Festival of the Five Petal Rose is held every year in Krumlov. This rose is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of Cesky Krumlov.

But the meaning of the five-petal rose does not end there.

The five-petalled rose is also a Tudor Rose,traditional heraldic emblemEngland and Hampshire. It is on the coat of arms of Great Britain and Canada.

And this same five-petalled rose is depicted on the Tarot card - the Major Arcana at number 13. Death.

The heraldic five-petalled rose was a symbol of the master-apprentice in Masonic teaching.

And the teachings of the Rosicrucians, as is known, became the forerunner of Freemasonry in the form in which it has come down to our time.

If we “investigate” the painting further, the tree behind the angel can be classified as an elm. According to the shape of the crown, the shape of the leaves, the density of the crown. Of course, this is just an assumption, but after comparing several photos of elms with the image of a tree in a Titian painting, I fully accept this fact.

Then we can assume that the picture depicts historical event, known as the “cutting of the elm”, when the Templars broke with the Priory of Sion and the Rosicrucians took the place of the Templars. In any case, many of the details in the picture, which we have already examined, speak precisely about this.

But let's get back to our ladies.

The “earthly” lady holds a five-petal rose flower in her hand. She has a flower in her hand, but her hand is in a glove, and she does not yet feel the flower with her skin, that is, there is a barrier between her and the Teachings of the Rosicrucians. Disputes are caused by the object at hand of earthly Love. Some say it is a bowl, others say it is a mandolin. Although it is possible that Titian deliberately “encrypted” the bowl. If he wanted to depict the mandolin in such a way that there was no room for other interpretations, he would have done it. But for some reason, an unambiguous interpretation of the subject at hand of earthly Love is difficult. Thus, Titian “hints” us at the cup.

In this case, the following analogies are easily drawn, firstly, with the Holy Grail, and secondly, the cups were used in Rosicrucian rituals. The object in the hand of Heavenly Love can be defined as an incense burner, which was also used in the ritual rites of the Rosicrucians.

Earthly love looks into the viewer's eyes, and heavenly love looks at her red shoe (or golden-red), or rather, the tip of the shoe. Once upon a time I read that red shoes are a symbol of the goddess Isis, a symbol of the initiate. If we go further, we can draw an analogy with the red papal shoes. Also a symbol of “high dedication”.

So, with a high degree of probability we can say that “during” this picture an initiation into membership of the Rosicrucian Order took place. The process of initiation was taking place. And it is also likely that this process included the ritual of kissing the tip of the red shoe. The two ladies are similar to each other, they are “tied” by the sarcophagus and are equally close to the viewer. They have two legs for two, since the leg of “heavenly love” is hidden from the viewer’s eyes, and the second leg is symbolized by the tip of the red shoe. We can say that the main postulate of Hermeticism is contained in such an encrypted form: “what is above is below, what is below is also above.” That is, the heavenly is reflected in the earthly, and the earthly in the heavenly.
One of the Rothschilds wanted to buy this painting. But his proposal was rejected. The symbol of the secret mysteries remains on Italian territory. In Rome. The city where the Vatican is located is one of the centers of world control.

There are still questions. Can earthly Love be identified with Salome, and heavenly Love with Mary Magdalene (although her hair is not loose, as in canonical images)?

Or is there a reference here to the Sixth Arcana of the Tarot - Lovers...

Not all of Titian’s mysteries have yet been solved, which means new discoveries and discoveries await us...

I will be grateful for all clarifications, additions and comments.